PRIMARY 



PLATFORM OF METHODISM 



OR, 



EXPOSITION 



OF THE 



GENERAL RULES. 



BY REV. MOSES M. HENKLE, D.D. 

u 



LOUISVILLE, KY. 

Published by the Author and Company, 

AND SOLD BY 

THE SOUTHERN METHODIST BOOK CONCERN, 
NO. 95, FOURTH STREET. 
MORTON & GRISWOLD, PRINTERS. 
1851. 



H53 



Entered, according- to an Act of Congress, in the year 1851, 
BY M. M. HENKLE. 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
District of Kentucky. 



In Exchange 
Duke University 
MAY 7 - 193* 



STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED 
EY MORTON & GRISWOLD. 



TO 



THE READER. 



The comments, or expositions, of the General Rules, found 
in this volume, first appeared in the Nashville Christian 
Advocate, to which the Author then held an editorial relation. 
They were, originally, designed as merely introductory to 
general expositions of Methodism, which it was his purpose 
to present through the same medium. The work, however, 
grew in magnitude and interest, on his hands, as he advanced ; 
and, before it was completed, he found that his introduction 
had grown considerably beyond the' dimensions he had assigned 
to his whole work. 

When but part of the numbers had appeared, some eight 
or ten of the Annual Conferences, officially, requested their 
publication, in book form, by the publishing establishment 
of the Southern Methodist Church. This measure not having 
been deemed advisable by those to whom the request was 
addressed, and the calls — official and unofficial — still continuing 
to be made for the work, the Author, after long delay, has 
consented to another medium of publication. 



4 



PREFACE. 



Had the work now to be re-written, with a view of 
making a book, a method considerably different from the 
present would be adopted; and, perhaps, a style, also, at 
least, in some parts; but, all things considered, it was judged 
better, to let the matter appear in the book very nearly 
the same as it did in the paper. Indeed, with one or two 
exceptions, the Numbers, as they appeared in the weekly 
paper, constitute the Chapters, as they now appear in the 
book — the advantages to be gained by a better arrangement 
of the matter, not being considered an adequate compensation 
for the additional labor. Such as it is, the work is presented 
to the reader, with no higher claim than that of an humble, 
earnest attempt, to discover, restore, and enforce, a faithful 
observance of the "ancient land-marks" of Methodist 
Christianity. 

Whether the Author's original purpose will be carried 
into effect, and this volume be succeeded by others, in 
exposition of other great features of Methodism, may depend, 
in a good degree, on the reception with which this pioneer 
of the proposed series may meet. 

M. M. H. 

Nashville, September, 1851. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



When, in the providence of God, it seemed to become 
necessary, for the Messrs. Wesley to make some special 
provision for the harmony, discipline, and edification, of the 
hundreds of souls who had been brought, through their 
instrumentality, to seek salvation, they wisely collected, 
and arranged into a short, plain code, of Christian duty, 
the elementary precepts of the Gospel — excluding doctrinal 
dogmas, and speculative divinity, entirely. In organizing 
those "babes" into a household; those "lambs" into a flock; 
they confined themselves to the divinity of the heart and 
the life; of experience and practice; after the model of 
Christ, in his Sermon on the Mount. For this course, there 
existed excellent reasons; and such as, in their circumstances, 
had peculiar force. The Societies which they had formed, 
and for which these Rules were designed as a bond of 
union, generally belonged to the National Church of England, 
which had a doctrinal code in her " Thirty-Nine Articles." 
Besides, as the prime object was, the improvement of the 



INTRODUCTION. 



hearts and lives of the members, the platform was made so 
broad, that all who were aiming at this one cardinal object? 
in sincerity of heart, might occupy a place on it; while, 
on the other hand, none could be admitted into the Society, 
however pure, or orthodox their creed, who did not profess 
an earnest "desire to flee from the wrath to come, and be 
saved from their sins." The Wesleys were desirous to do 
good to all, without respect to doctrinal tenets, who earnestly 
sought salvation by faith, through grace; well knowing, that 
doctrinal affinities would, early enough, develope themselves. 
There was no duplicity in this ; for, though the Wesleys 
were decidedly Arminian in doctrine, the Church to which 
they, and their societies, held relation, was divided, in opinion, 
on this very point; and many of the sharpest doctrinal 
controversies of that time, were within the pale of that 
Church ; and, therefore, applicants for membership in the 
Society, could not, very well, be questioned as to which 
side of the controversy, in the Church, they adhered. But, 
moreover, the doctrinal views of the Wesleys were well 
understood, before the publication of these Rules. The 
" United Societies," for whose government they were designed, 
were first formed in the latter part of the year 1739 — several 
years before the publication of the Rules under notice. 
In the earlier part of the same year, a somewhat similar 
Society was formed at Bristol, (and other places) as the 
result of the joint labors, it would seem, of Messrs. Wesley 
and Whitefield ; but, when Wesley and Whitefield separated, 
on the question of absolute predestination, the Society also 
separated on the same question. 

These Rules, with remarkably few and slight modifications, 
have been respected as a Primary Platform, by the entire 
family of Wesleyan Methodists, for more than one hundred 



INTRODUCTION, 



7 



years ; and, however the several branches of this great 
denominational family have differed, in opinion, on questions 
of polity, and other matters, each branch, or sub-division, 
has taken its grand stand-point on these Rules, as common 
ground. They belong, alike, to all who have rallied under 
this banner. English Wesleyans, of the various types ; 
Methodists of Canada — Wesleyan and Episcopal ; Methodist 
Episcopal Church of the United States — North and South; 
Protestant Methodists, &c. ; all claim the General Rules as 
an heir-loom, descended to them from a common spiritual 
father. The existence of this tenancy in common — this 
coparcenery in the property of our Platform — is a source 
of satisfaction to the writer, in the prosecution of his 
task. It enables him to feel, that he is uttering the 
sentiments, and advocating the claims, not of a single sect, 
but of a great family of Christian Churches; divided, indeed, 
in the details of polity, but cordially harmonizing in all 
that concerns the religion of the heart and of the life; and 
harmonizing as well with the teachings and the spirit of the 
Gospel as with each other. And, besides, there is a further 
satisfaction, in feeling assured, that this summary moral code 
is as cordially received by all evangelical Christians, of 
whatever name, as it is by the different Methodist organiza- 
tions. It is true, that the first, or introductory part of this 
summary, is devoted to prudential regulations, peculiar to 
Methodists, which, in the liberty and discretionary power 
allowed to Christians, we regard it our gospel right to adopt, 
for the better carrying into effect of the practical duties 
therein required. These, though in accordance with the 
teachings of God's Word, are not explicitly required by it; 
and, therefore, Christians of other Churches are at perfect 
liberty to receive or reject them. But, the other three 



8 



INTRODUCTION. 



grand divisions of the General Rules — "Avoiding Evil," 
"Doing Good," and "Attending upon all the Ordi- 
nances of God" — with the specifications of duty under 
each division, are so explicitly taught by the Word and 
Spirit of God, that it may be doubted whether any devout 
Christian, or sincere seeker of salvation, can be found to 
oppose them, or whose enlightened conscience will sanction 
their neglect. 

We speak, of course, of the Rules themselves, as compiled 
by Mr. Wesley — copied, in chief, from the Word of God — 
and not of any construction herein given of them. With 
regard to some of the Author's expositions, it is to be 
expected, that fault will be found by honest Christians 
holding different views; and this right is cheerfully accorded 
to them. This dissent he expects, chiefly on the Terms of 
Membership, the rule on Slavery, and some minor matters 
not directly embraced in the Rules. With regard to the 
first, the writer is most thoroughly convinced, that the 
original condition of admission to membership in the " United 
Societies" — "A desire to flee from the wrath to come, and 
be saved from sin" — is the true condition of membership 
in a Christian Church; and that this opinion is according 
to the Word of God, the standards of the leading Protes- 
tant Churches, and, especially, to the uniform teachings of 
Methodism, he trusts, is made clear, in this work. Being 
very solicitous, to elicit the truth, fully, on this subject, 
he did prepare, in addition to what appears in this work, 
another chapter, of considerable length, more fully defending 
the views herein stated; but meeting no recent indications of 
the spread of the opposite opinion, and finding no Methodist 
writer, of name, in its advocacy, it was deemed advisable, not 
to occupy more space, with that topic, than was strictly necessary. 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



With regard to the rule on the subject of "Buying and 
Selling Men, Women, and Children," the temper of the 
times may not bear, patiently, in certain quarters, the exposi- 
tion here given of the origin and design of this interpolated 
rule; yet, it is believed, that no other construction than 
that given, can be made to harmonize with the settled 
facts of history, the consistency of Church action, and the 
reason of the case. It was the sole object of the writer, to 
follow truth, in this inquiry ; and, though, on this point, she 
has, in some particulars, led him whither he would not, 
honesty has compelled him to follow her to the conclusions 
herein recorded. If those conclusions can be shown to be 
incorrect, they will be promptly renounced; but, until this 
shall be done, he must occupy his present position. 

The other points alluded to, are not judged to be of 
sufficient importance to demand any special notice here. 

If, as we have seen, these Rules have been uniformly 
received by all sections of Methodism; if, on them, they 
have all taken their primary standpoint, they have all, at 
the same time, attached a corresponding importance to them* 
making them, next to the naked Word of God, the foun- 
dation of their respective Church organizations. It is made 
the duty of those having charge of circuits, to read these 
Rules "once a year, in every large congregation, and once 
a quarter, in every society." So important are they deemed, 
that the minister is required to read them in the congre- 
gation, that the public may understand the ground winch 
we occupy. And, as these are the rules by which the members 
are to regulate their daily walk, once in three months the 
pastor is required to read the Rules in each society, and to 
explain, and earnestly enforce, their observance on the 
members. 



10 INTRODUCTION. 



This estimate of the moral value of the General Rules, 
is, evidently, not too high ; for, while we never find a barren, 
or dead Christian, among those who are constant, and faithful, 
in attendance on the duties here enjoined, among those 
who are neglectful of them, we never find a fruitful and 
living one. It is, too, most painfully manifest) that the 
Methodist Church is suffering very much in the religious 
enjoyment of her membership, and in her reputation for 
purity, by a too general neglect of these rules of holy living. 
In every place, we hear complaint, that members habitually 
neglect the means of grace; and, in many instances, trample 
on the rules, by direct and open acts of violation. How 
many theatre-going members are hanging, as dead weights, 
on the Church ! How many have danced away their last 
"desire to flee from the wrath to come," and would not 
deny themselves the indulgence, though it should behead 
John, or crucify the cause of Christ! How many have so 
intoxicated the heart, and bewildered the understanding, by 
poring, day and night, over poisonous novels, and unnatural 
romance, that they are disqualified, as well for the rational 
enjoyments of earth, as for the consolations of religion, or 
the blisses of heaven ! And all this takes place among people 
who have solemnly subscribed to these very stringent rules 
of holy living. Were these rules suitably familiarized to the 
minds, impressed on the hearts, and enforced on the lives, 
of our members, if we should not have so numerous a 
membership, we should, at least, have a much more pure 
and spiritual Church. 

. Impressed with these convictions, the Author of this 
work undertook to write a plain, practical exposition of the 
General Rules, hoping, by this means, to call attention, and 
quicken the interest, of both preachers and members, in the 



INTRODUCTION, 



11 



subject. A large number of Annual Conferences, enter- 
taining, probably, the same views, officially requested the 
publication of these expositions, in a permanent form. To 
these official requests were added, the individual solicitations 
of a number of ministers of the first rank, North and South. 
And, indeed, ministers of other denominations, have requested 
the publication, especially that part which treats of the subject 
of Amusements. After a delay of more than two years, it 
has been determined to put the work into the hands of 
efficient publishers, who feel a deep interest in the moral 
success of the enterprize. 

Assuming that the work, itself, is calculated to do good, 
at a point where much, very much, just now, needs to be 
done, it will rest, in a great measure, with the preachers, 
to determine the extent to which it shall accomplish the 
object contemplated. They can secure for it an extensive 
circulation, and a general reading among the members ; 
and, unless it can be widely circulated, and generally and 
carefully read, it were better that it should never see the 
light at all ; for, a failure in an attempt to call back our mem- 
bership to first principles, and to correct existing errors and 
abuses, which threaten the vital interests of the Church, must 
tend to the strengthening and perpetuity of the evils the attempt 
would remedy. 

We have, evidently, reached a point — a crisis — where, 
if the peculiarities of Methodism, in which our fathers gloried, 
are to be maintained, and transmitted, pure, to posterity, 
they must be fully and fairly explained, and defended, to 
the satisfaction of reasonable men and Christians. If they 
are not susceptible of such explanation and defence, we 
should know that fact, and at once renounce them. But, 
if that which our fathers loved, and defended, and conquered 



12 



INTRODUCTION". 



by, is dear to us — their sons — then let us be " bold to take, 
and firm to sustain," this defence, not only against outward 
foes, but against inward enemies of the heart, which long 
for enlargement from the bondage of self-denial and cross- 
bearing. 

May the Great Shepherd of Israel bless this humble effort 
to promote his glory, in the quickening, building up, and 
comforting, of thousands of the lambs of His flock, is the 
fervent prayer of 

THE AUTHOR. 

Near Nashville, Tennessee, 1851. 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE "GENERAL 
RULES." 



CHAPTER II. 

TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 

Aggregate character of the Society — " A company of men having 
the form, and seeking the power of Godliness " — Individual qualifi- 
cations of membership — s: A desire to flee from the wrath to come " 
— Objection to admission of seekers answered - - - Page 30 



CHAPTER III. 
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP— CONTINUED. 

Those entitled to claim the promises have a right to membership — 
Those promises shown to be for the contrite — Repentance the 
original condition of admission — Usages of the primitive Church 
in agreement with our rule — Modern Churches the same — This 
is the uniform doctrine of Methodists of every class - - - - 41 



CHAPTER IV. 
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP— CONCLUDED. 



Cause of the controversy, wrong views of the work of grace on 
the heart— Full assurance an impracticable condition, and required 



CONTENTS. 



by no Church— Opinions of Fletcher and Wesley — A Methodist 
opposer of the doctrine, refuted by Wesley — Absurdity of the 
opposite theory shown in five particulars 56 



CHAPTER V. 

PROBATIONARY RELATION. 

Principle of probation practically acknowledged in every department 
of life — The analogy of Scripture usage to the same effect — 
This was the practice of the primitive Church — proof — It is 
virtually the usage of modem Churches — Qualifications for 
probationership — Rights and privileges of those on trial — Pro- 
bationers not members of the Church — Primitive Church usage — 
Difference between probationers and members — How they may be 
dismissed — Requisites for advancement to membership - - - 70 



CHAPTER VI. 

CLASS MEETINGS. 

The Church has a right to adopt prudential regulations for 
edification — What a Class is — Examples from Scripture — Pro- 
priety of such meetings found in man's moral constitution — 
Power of sympathy — Influence of experience — example — Class 
Meetings — Promotion of Christian fellowship — Nurseries for the 
ministry — Promotes self-examination — Permanency and prosperity 
of the Church, involved in then- maintenance 92 



CHAPTER VII. 

CLASS MEETINGS— CONTINUED. 

Class Meetings originated providentially — Notice of their rise — 
Bishops' Notes concerning — Duties of pastors, respecting Class 
Meetings, laid down in six particulars — Duties of the leader — 
Duty of members 107 



CONTENTS, 



15 



CHAPTER VIII. 
AVOIDING EVIL— PROFANE SWEARING. 
Scripture testimony against this vice — It is without excuse — 
Weakens confidence in swearer's veracity — Tends to lessen 
reverence for God — Other forms of profanity beside direct 
swearing — Lord Chesterfield's testimony against it — Tends to 
weaken the force of judicial oaths — Propriety of such oaths shown 
— Duty of Christians to reprove this vice — Examples - - - 123 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE SABBATH. 

Instituted at Creation — Its necessity seen in physical and moral 
constitution requiring rest — The command respects a seventh 
part of our time, as measured by days, rather than a particular 
day — The observance of the same identical day impracticable 
— Right to change the Jewish day — Original ordinance not 
repealed — virtually re-enacted — Sabbath both a civil and religious 
institution among the Jews, and so among Christian nations ; 
enforced by law, only in its civil character — How far legislatures 
may rightfully go — Church must enforce religious observance of 
the day 134 



CHAPTER X. 
THE SABBATH— CONTINUED. 
More respectable and common forms of violating the Sabbath 
— Sabbath Visiting — Sabbath Feasting— Sabbath Travelling — 
Treating slight diseases on that day — Neglect of children and 
servants — Sabbath sleeping — Sabbath writing — Works of necessity 
and mercy to be done — What they are 147 



CHAPTER XI. 
INTEMPERANCE. 
Original reading of this rule — Philosophy of intemperance — A 
social vice, and must be controlled by social instrumentalities 



16 



CONTENTS. 



—Obligation of temperance men to support temperance organi- 
zations — A duty to suppress drinking houses ; especially the 
more genteel ones — Impropriety of the manufacture and sale of 
spirituous liquors ----160 



CHAPTER XII. 
SLAVERY. 

Mr. Wesley made no rule on the subject — This rule first appeared 
in the Discipline of 1789 — original form of it — By whom 
enacted 1 ? — Not by General or Annual Conference, proved — not 
by the Council, clearly proved — It was introduced by the Bishops 
— It referred to the African Slave Trade, proved by seven 
arguments — Objection concerning Bishops 1 Notes answered — Wick- 
edness of the African Slave Trade — opposition of Southern States 
to it — Early rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church found 
impracticable — Duty to submit to the laws, in matters of civil 
relation — Examples of Christ and Apostles 173 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SLAVERY— C ONTINUED. 

Church legislation not advisable; the example of Christ and his 
Apostles preferable — Difficulties of Emancipation — This is not 
the whole duty of the master, and may be even wrong — Duty of 
master respecting religious training of slaves — to make them 
a part of his household, in religious matters — Cases where they 
are too numerous for this arrangement — where slaves are on 
a distant estate — master bound to provide a good and faithful 
manager — Duty to employ a missionary — Importance of the 
missionary work — Suggestions as to the manner of its successful 
performance 187 



CHAPTER XIV. 
FIGHTING. 

Admitted to be wrong in ordinary cases — supposed exceptions 
considered — Revenge excluded by the law of Christ — Duelling — 



CONTENTS. 



17 



The worst kind of wilful murder — Christians criminal, who 
countenance murderers of this class more than assassins — ■ 
Duelling no proof of a higher than brute courage, and is not 
evidence of even the presence of this — War — Spirit of war 
contrary to that of the Gospel — Attended with fewer circum- 
stances of cruelty than formerly — Duty of Christians to obey 
the calls of their country ; but not to rush, uncalled, to the field 
of battle - 200 



CHAPTER XV. 

QUARRELLING — BRAWLING— BROTHER GOING 
TO LAW WITH BROTHER. 

•Quarrelling, Brawling — Angry manner, and harsh words, wrong, 
and ill-judged — Quaker's rule for avoiding it — Gentleness, and 
less confident manner, more effectual — Franklin — Brother going 
to law, frc — Good men may honestly differ, and come in conflict- 
In that case, the judgment of brethren is safe, and more becoming, 
than the public courts — Scandal of Christians going to law 
for right — Our rule makes provision for the whole ground of 
settlement, collection, &c. — Delinquents punishable - - - 210 



CHAPTER XVI. 

RETURNING EVIL FOR EVIL, OR RAILING FOR 
RAILING.— USING MANY WORDS IN BUYING 
AND SELLING. — THE BUYING OR SELLING 
GOODS THAT HAVE NOT PAID THE DUTY. 

Returning evil, 8fc. — The spirit of revenge contrary to the Gospel- 
Gentleness, kindness, and forgiveness, the Christian's offensive and 
defensive armor. Using many words, ^c— The seller's trade to 
praise his wares — Danger of injuring both conscience and business 
— The falling and Jewing system. Buying or selling goods that have 
not paid the duty — The matter explained — Equally criminal to 
stop money on its way to the treasury, as to take it from 
there ------- 215 

4> 



18 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE GIVING OR TAKING THINGS ON USURY, 
THAT IS, UNLAWFUL INTEREST— UNCHARI- 
TABLE, OR UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION, 
PARTICULARLY, SPEAKING EVIL OF MAGIS- 
TRATES OR MINISTERS. 

Usury — Value of money variable ; and, hence, difficult to fix a just 
rate of hire — Necessary to follow the rule of law — Duty to lend — 
Uncharitable, or unprofitable conversation — Nature and effects of 
charity — Bad effects of neglecting this rule — Unprofitable conver- 
sation nearly allied to uncharitable — common and fashionable — 
unbecoming Christians — Speaking evil of magistrates or ministers 
— Original design of this rule to apply to civil rulers — a different 
opinion held, but this one proved by several arguments; but, 
though the rule does not apply to gospel ministers, yet, it well 
enough expresses a duty due them — Disposition to fault-finding 
rebuked — Christians fix the position of their ministers in community 
by the respect they show him by word and deed - - - - 220 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

DOING TO OTHERS AS WE WOULD NOT THAT 
THEY SHOULD DO UNTO US.— DOING WHAT 
WE KNOW IS NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD: 
AS, THE PUTTING ON OF GOLD, AND COSTLY 
APPAREL.— DRESS. 

The golden rule — God requires our obedience to this rule, but we 
have no claim on others to observe it, only as based on our 
own obedience to it — Dress — " Gold and costly apparel " are 
joined together in the rule, and in the word of God, though often 
separated in enforcing the duty— Both prohibited alike and for the 
same reason, though the putting on of gold condemned by many, 
who scruple not to put on costly apparel— Reasons against both— 
a wrongful waste of money — out of Christian character — the 
example is pernicious— afflicts the feelings of others— operates to 
the prejudice of Christianity— An excuse— Inconsistency in early 
plain Methodists— Bad effects of it— Moderation and gravity in 
dress required, especially in ministers and aged Christians - 232 



CONTENTS, 



19 



CHAPTER XIX. 

AMUSEMENTS— TAKING SUCH DIVERSIONS AS 
CANNOT BE USED IN THE NAME OF THE 
LORD JESUS. — DANCING. 

To estimate the effects of dancing, we must take it in the ball-room, 
where its object is reached, and not in its preparatory exercises 
— Injurious to health — The enemy of mental improvement — 
Opinion of Chesterfield — Moral influence bad — Descriptive scene 
— General character of the whole — analysis of it — Waltzing — 
Opinion of it, by a high literary authority 241 



CHAPTER XX. 
AMUSEMENTS.— DANCING— CONTINUED. 
The experience and consciousness of Christians, who have tried 
it, condemn the practice — The refining influence of dancing 
considered — Dancing an amusement of uncivilized men, lacking 
mental enjoyments — The propriety of teaching children to dance 
considered — Innocence of dancing, "in itself," considered — The 
world expects better things of us, at this day. - - - - 254 



CHAPTER XXI. 
AMUSEMENTS.— THE THEATRE. 
Theatrical amusements have been in use for, say, 2400 years — Of 
Grecian origin — Referred to celebrations of Bacchus — Notice of 
those orgies — A car, or cart, the first stage — then the temple 
of Bacchus — Account of early Theatres — Success in tragic com- 
position and acting decided by judges — Comedy much less 
respectable — Roman drama derived from the festival of Harvest 
Home — in several respects resembling the rites of Bacchus — 
Notice of Roman dramatists — Difference between ancient and 
modern drama, in favor of the former — Neither history, eloquence, 
nor morality to be gained there — Shakspeare deficient in purity— 
The notion of reproving vice in this way fallacious — Cannot be 
taken in the name of the Lord Jesus, and, therefore, improper for 
Christians - - , 263 



20 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

AMUSEMENTS.— THE THEATRE— CONTINUED. 

The legitimate drama not tolerated, but low comedy, &c. — Actors 
generally not men of talents — talents find a surer and better 
reward in other departments — Few actors of high moral char- 
acter — Starring — detrimental to regular operations — could not 
succeed, but for general lack of talent among players — Devices 
for attracting attention — the press — Encouragement of courtesans 
— Associations of the Theatre unfit for Christians — Theatrical 
amusements waning in popularity 276 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

AMUSEMENTS.— THE CIRCUS. 

Circus lower, but more candid than Theatre, for it only professes to 
amuse with feats of agility and buffoonery — nothing to learn, or 
to imitate — The whole an animal affair — System of humbug — 
Manner of drumming up patronage — Bad influence on the young 
on servants, &c — The actual performance — riding — female per- 
formers — clown — idea probably derived from King's Eool — 
coarse wit of modern clowns — Model artistes — Evil effects of the 
Circus 284 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

AMUSEMENTS.— GAMES. 

Gambling not treated, but games for amusement — Cards — playing 
for amusement, forms the habit and love of it, and leads 
to gambling — instances — Case of Lock — of Dodd — Romaine — 
Remarks of Bennett — Even playing for amusement injures the 
confidence of business men, or young men — instance — Billiards, 
dice, &c, in the like category with cards ------ 29fe 



CONTENTS, 



21 



CHAPTER XXV. 
AMUSEMENTS. — SPORTS. 

Horse Racing— Original manner of running horses — Greeks prac- 
tised this sport — Did not make gain an object — This a leading- 
object in modern times — Plea that horse racing improves the breed 
of horses fallacious — The sport is cruel — Tends to dissipation — 
Gambling a chief object — An unfit place for ladies and Christians 
— Attendance of Christians wrong — Hunting, &c. — Rule by 
which we may judge of the innocency of these sports - - - 306 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

BETTING.— LOTTERIES.— INSURANCE. 

Betting — The principle wrong — A legal offence, and morally 
wrong — Betting on Elections — Attended with worse effects than 
other forms of the vice — Tends to corruption — Indirect modes 
of betting — no better — Lotteries — Principle explained and shown 
to be immoral — essentially gambling — Insurance — Different in 
principle and object— Explained --------- 314 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
AMUSEMENTS. — SINGING. — READING. 

Poetry and song the language of feeling — Common to all states of 
society — Specially suited to devotion — Two extremes — Errors and 
evils in common musical education — A class of devotional songs 
of questionable propriety — Reading — What is necessary to its 
profitting — Political papers — their bitterness — Fashionable Periodi- 
cals — Books of infidel tendency — varied to suit different tastes — 
Works of fiction even more hurtful — chiefly calculated to excite 
passions and corrupt the heart — Destroys a taste for solid reading 
Testimony against — Prejudicial to domestic happiness — should be 
discouraged by pulpit and press ---- = = -.-- 325 



22 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SELF-INDULGENCE.— WORLDLY MINDEDNESS. — 
DISHONESTY IN BORROWING AND BUYING, 

" Softness," &c. — Duty of self-denial and cross-bearing — Effemi- 
nacy unbecoming the soldiers of Christ — Especially ministers of 
the Gospel — Example of our fathers— Laying up treasures," 
&c. — Inconsistency, danger, and folly of Christians laying up 
treasures on earth — Bishops' note on the plea — "Borrowing," 
&c. — Piety and morality inseparable — A good rule to avoid going 
in debt — Bishops' note on the plea — Punctuality - - - - 346 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
DOING GOOD. 

This the second general evidence of a desire to flee from the wrath to 
come — Bishops' note — The manner — to their bodies — by feeding — 
clothing — visiting — helping — Hospitality 357 



CHAPTER XXX. 

DOING GOOD.— TO THE SOULS OF MEN — 
FRUGALITY, &c. 

Doing good to the souls of men — by instructing — reproving — exhort- 
ing — Special duty to Christians and true penitents — Bishops' note 
Diligence — duty of — of little value without Frugality — Running 
the Christian race patiently — self-denyingly — cross-bearingly — 
submitting to and looking for persecution 365 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 

Public worship — reading and preaching God's word — Lard's Supper 
— Nature and uses of this Sacrament explained in six particulars 
— Qualifications for partaking of— Difficulties with brethren — 
Right of penitents — Spirit in which it should be partaken - 376 



CONTENTS. 



23 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
ORDINANCES OF RELIGION— PRAYER— FASTING. 

Family Prater — Nature of the duty — Family religion before 
congregational — The head of a family the Priest — Benefits of — 
Proper time for — Errors and mistakes about — Having but part of 
the family present — Tediousness — Hurry — Want of co-operation 
in heads of family — Private Prater — How performed, and 
advantages of it — Fasting, or Abstinence — Nature of the duty 
— Examples — Concluding paragraph of the Rules — Analysis of 
it 387 



PRIMARY PLATFORM OF METHODISM, 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE "GENERAL 
RULES." 



As that 4 6 earnest' ' form of Christianity called 
Methodism, is, at this time, the object of both opposition 
and a spirit of innovation, we have determined to. 
devote some attention to a plain and faithful exposition 
of its leading denominational peculiarities. And the 
" G-eneral Rules" having constituted the first conven- 
tional platform, on which the fathers and pioneers 
of Methodism were brought together, as an organized 
body of Christians ; and as some of the strongest 
opposition to Methodism — internal as well as external 
— is directed against certain principles and practices 
set forth in their rules, they shall claim our first 
attention. 

We begin by quoting the following very brief 
introduction, with which these rules were originally 
prefaced by the Messrs. Wesleys : — ■ 
3 



26 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



"Nature, Design, and General Rules, or our 
United Societies. — In the latter end of the year 1739, 
eight or ten persons came to Mr. Wesley, in London, who 
appeared to be deeply convinced of' sin, and earnestly groaning 
for redemption. They desired (as did two or three more the 
next day) that he would spend some time with them in prayer, 
and advise them how to flee from the wrath to come, which 
they saw continually hanging over their heads. That he might 
have more time for this great work, he appointed a day when 
they might all come together; which, from thenceforward, 
they did every week, namely, on Thursday, in the evening. 
To these, and as many more as desired to join" with them, 
(for their number increased daily,) he gave those advices, 
from time to time, which he judged most needful for them; 
and they always concluded their meeting with prayer suited 
to their several necessities." 

Methodism has, from the beginning, been, in a most 
striking manner, the child of Providence, Nearly all 
its peculiar characteristics were adopted, without any- 
previous design, on the part of the instruments by 
whose agency it was brought into organized existence, 
as circumstances seemed to require, and without 
expectation of their becoming elements in a permanent 
e c clesias tical c onstitution . 

The personal piety, and earnest longing after 
holiness, of Mr. Wesley and his early associates, 
attracted the attention of other inquirers after truth 
and purity, who sought aid from the counsel of those 
in whose wisdom and Christian experience they had 
strong confidence. As a matter of convenience, 
economy of time, and general improvement, the 
measure most natural and reasonable, under the 
circumstances, was adopted — that of agreeing that 
all should come together at one place, and at stated 



OF THE " GENERAL RULES." 27 

periods, for purposes of religious instruction, rather 
than that such advice and comfort should be given to 
each separately. 

But this society, formed in 1739, was not the first 
movement of the kind, though it appears to have been 
the first of a permanent character, and out of it grew 
some of the peculiar institutions of Methodism ; and but 
for this measure, it may be doubted if any permanent 
organization in the nature of a religious society, had 
resulted from the labors of the Wesleys. 

In 1729, a society, somewhat similar, was formed 
at Oxford, for mutual edification, which appears to 
have been dissolved when Mr. Wesley went to Georgia, 
in 1786. Another was formed in Savannah, Georgia, 
and met in Mr. Wesley's house, on the afternoon 
of Sunday ; but was discontinued when Mr. Wesley 
left Georgia for England. In May, 1738, a third 
was formed in London, under care of Peter Boeler. 
Some of its members were comiected with the 
Moravians, ,and some were the more immediate fruits 
of the labors of the Wesleys. A fourth society was 
organized in Bristol in the summer of 1789, which 
grew to a large number ; and when Mr. Whitefield 
began to preach predestination, the society divided, 
some going with him, and others with Mr. Wesley. 
But that to which reference is made by the Messrs. 
Wesley, in the introduction to the General Rules, as 
the nucleus of the " United Societies," and subsequently 
of the whole Wesleyan Methodist Connection, was 
formed in the latter end of the year 1739. It is 
worthy of remark, that Mr. Wesley continued his 
membership in the society connected with the Moravians, 



28 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



as well as with this one, until 1740, and was, at the 
same time, (and, indeed, through life,) a clergyman 
of the Church of England. 

From this beginning, other societies grew up, and 
multiplied to such an extent, that Mr. Wesley could 
not attend, personally, to the religious instruction 
of all ; and, after the example of Moses, when the 
concerns of Israel became too weighty and varied for 
his personal attention, he appointed judicious, God- 
fearing men, to take charge of smaller sections, which 
came, without any particular design, to be called 
Classes. 

In all this, Mr. Wesley appears to have acted 
upon no preconcerted plan, but only did what 
the circumstances in which he was placed, or the 
clear indications of Providence seemed to require. 
The wisdom, however, of obeying those leadings of 
Providence, is sufficiently clear from the results which 
followed. Mr. Whitefield neglected these organizing 
measures, and, in a great degree, the fruit of his 
astonishing labors died with himself ; while, under 
the system pursued by Mr. Wesley, millions have 
been collected into the visible household of faith. 
Mr. Whitefield appears to have seen and regretted 
his error in this matter, when it was too late to remedy 
the evil ; for, long after the efficacy of both plans 
of operation had been tested, he said to Mr. Pool, 
(as reported by Dr. Adam Clarke, from Mr. Pool 
himself,) " The souls that were awakened under 
Mr. Wesley's ministry, he joined in classes, and thus 
preserved the fruits of his labor. This I neglected, 
and my people are a rope of sand." 



OF THE GENERAL RULES. 



29 



For about three and a half years, these societies 
appear to have acted only with a view of mutual 
edification, without any specific rules for their govern- 
ment, or for the reception or expulsion of members ; 
but such rules were so pressingly called for, by the 
circumstances of the infant, but rapidly growing 
societies, that, on the first of May, 1743, Messrs. John 
and Charles Wesley published the brief, but most 
excellent moral code contained in these General Rules, 
and they were cordially received by the " United 
Societies," and are still retained as the great elementary 
moral code, by all divisions of the universal Methodist 
family. 

It will be noticed, that these rules, like the Saviour's 
Sermon on the Mount — which they resemble more, 
perhaps, than any other human production does — do 
not contain theological dogmas or doctrinal tests, but 
are practical and experimental in their character ; a 
principal reason for which may be found in the fact, 
that these societies were in membership with the 
national Church of England, whose doctrines thsy 
received, and whose ordinances they enjoyed, ma 
therefore needed no separate Articles of Religion or 
Confession of Faith. Their object was not the formati ra 
of a Church, but the improvement in piety and personU 
holiness, of those who were already Church members. 



CHAPTER II. 



TEEMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



Aggregate character of the Society — " A company of men having 
the form, and seeking the power of Godliness " — Individual qualifi- 
cations of membership — " A desire to flee from the wrath to come " 
— Objection to admission of seekers answered. 

These Rules were designed as a bond of union, and 
directory of moral and religious conduct, for societies 
organized for purposes of spiritual improvement, and ex- 
isting, not independently, but chiefly within the Church 
of England. They were not intended to be either doc- 
trinal or ecclesiastical, but practical and experimental ; 
and, therefore, not likely, in their original relation, to 
call forth much objection, and especially as they are in 
strict accordance with the Word of God. But, when 
those societies grew up into a widely extended Christian 
Church, and the term of admission into the original socie- 
ties was adopted as the condition of membership in an 
independent Christian denomination, the condition of 
communion was more severely scrutinized, and has 
called forth much opposition. But the controversy is 
not original with our Church ; and, though long known 
in the general Church, it is now seldom mentioned, 
except in connection with the Methodist denomination. 
And as this term of admission has been, and is still, vehe- 
mently opposed in certain quarters, we think it proper 
to examine the merits of the question at some length. 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



The character of the organization, as such, and the 
required qualifications of admission to membership in it, 
are both here presented to view, so that each casts 
light on the other, and, together, render the object 
clear and intelligible. 

The character and object of the association, con- 
sidered collectively, are set forth in the following 
language : " Such a society is no other than a 
company of men, having the form, and seeking the 
power, of godliness, united, in order to pray together, 
to receive the word of exhortation, and to ivatch over 
one another in love, that they may help each other 
to work out their salvation" The elements of 
this description are: 1st. "A form of godliness," 
embracing outward obedience, and a blameless per- 
formance of Christian duty. 2nd. " Seeking the 
power of godliness ;" implying an earnest, humble, 
persevering effort, to obtain an object of chief desire. 
3rd. Prayer offered for each other, as well as 
«ach for himself. 4th. Mutual counsel, exhortation, 
encouragement. 5th. Watchfulness, not only each 
for himself, but "over each other, in love," and for 
good. 6th. The grand object being, to " help each 
other" in the great concern of "working out their 
salvation.'''' 

This description of a Church organization, well 
accords with that set forth in the Nineteenth Article 
of Faith of the Church of England. "The visible 
Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in 
which the pure Word of God is preached, and the 
sacraments duly administered, according to Christ's 
ordinances, in all things that of necessity are requisite 



32 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



to the same." " Faithful," here, is used in the sense 
of fidelity, honesty, sincerity, and not as indicating the 
measure of faith, confidence, or assurance, possessed. 
This faithfulness of disposition or spirit, and the proper 
use of the means and ordinances of grace, constitute 
the character of a true Church of Christ, as portrayed 
hi the Article quoted, alike as in the General Rules. 

The Presbyterian Confession of Faith (chap, xxv.) 
says: " The visible Church consists of all, throughout 
the world, that profess the true religion, together with 
their children." * * * " Unto this Church Christ 
hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances 
of God." * * * "And particular Churches are 
more or less pure, as the doctrine of the Gospel 
is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and 
public worship performed more or less purely in them." 
Here the same general elements appear as in the 
preceding cases, only that less stress is laid on personal 
character, than 'in the others, and especially than in 
the General Rules. " All who profess the true 
religion, together with their children.'''' A profession 
of the true religion (Christian religion — and not the 
Jewish or Mohammedan) entitles them to be members 
of the Church, without any specified requirement 
of faithfulness, as in the case of the Church of 
England, or possessing the form of godliness and 
seeking the power, as prescribed in the General Rules. 
But the word and ordinances are there administered, 
and the general object is the same as in the other 
instances. 

From what has been stated, it cannot be truly said, 
that we place the object of Church organization on 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



33 



less elevated ground than the other Churches, but rather 
the reverse. But, before we proceed to consider the 
personal qualifications of membership, let us inquire a 
little farther, with regard to the grand design of 
establishing a Church organization in the world, the 
better to enable us to understand the proper conditions 
and qualifications of individual membership. 

Is that object to separate justified and accepted 
believers from others, as a class with whom all others 
are unworthy to fraternize ? Or is it to afford all 
possible helps to such as truly desire to be of the 
spiritual household of God ? The latter, to be sure. To 
the Church triumphant in Heaven, truly belongs the first 
character, but not to the Church militant. Here, the 
whole body is composed of such as are still in danger 
and in conflict, and they have united themselves for 
purposes of mutual help, in " working out their 
salvation." Not because they are perfect in goodness, 
but because they desire to become so, and seek all 
available helps in the attainment of their object. They 
are weak, and their weakness — not their strength 
— impels them to unite for the securing of greater 
strength. They know that the strong enemy could 
easily break ten thousand attenuated fibres separately, 
but that those fibres, so frail in their individual 
weakness, become mighty in their united strength. 

The Church is a school, designed to make men wise 
unto salvation, into which not only the wise and learned 
are admitted, but whose portals are freely open to those 
who feel the plague of their ignorance, and earnestly 
desire to gain true wisdom. It is a, fortress, in a hostile 
region ; not for a defence alone of the strong and 



34 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



skilful, but no less for the weak and helpless seeking 
refuge and protection. It is a household, in which not 
only fathers and mothers, young men and maidens, 
enjoy privileges, but where infirmity, decrepitude, 
dependent childhood, and helpless infancy, find shelter 
and provision. 

According with these views, are the ' terms or 
conditions of individual membership. " There is only 
one condition previously required of those who desire 
admission into these societies, i a desire to flee from 
the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins.*" 
This description, though brief, is full and compre- 
hensive, embracing two general ideas : — 

First. " A desire to flee from the wrath to 
come." 

This implies : 1. A deep sense of the exceeding 
sinfulness of sin ; for, without this, the sinner will 
have no real desire to flee from sin. 

2. A just apprehension of the dangerous conse- 
quences of sin, as bringing "the wrath of God on 
the children of disobedience." He will not exert 
himself to escape that wrath, unless — in the language 
of Mr. Wesley — " He sees it continually hanging over 
him." In the state of mind here contemplated, he 
painfully realizes, that " the wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness ;" that indignation 
and wrath " shall be upon evil doers ;" and that he is 
one of the " children of wrath," and, consequently, 
exposed to the terrible punishment due to sin. 

3. This conviction awakens, alarms, and impels him 
to earnest exertion to escape it; "to flee from it;" 
implying a tte«p sense of danger and feeling of alarm. 



TEEMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



35 



The avenger of blood is pressing him hard, and he 
desires to flee with all his might, and all his speed, 
from the fearful peril. No sluggish desire, no tame 
effort, can answer to this living description of one 
flying from the open jaws of death. Herein is implied 
all of deep awakening and conviction, that comes from 
Sinai, and the thunderings of God's law. He feels his 
burden and Ms chains, and cries, " 0 wretched man 
that I am ; who shall deliver me ?" " Lord save, 
or I perish." Such is a desire to flee from wrath. 

But, in fleeing from wrath, to whom — to what 
shall he flee ? This is the next inquiry, in the natural 
order of the mind's operations, on this subject ; and 
this constitutes the second part of the description of 
character and experience, as laid down in the rule 
above : "A desire to be saved from sin." A desire to 
escape wrath, and obtain salvation. This implies : — 

1 . Sorrow for sin; for one will not desire to 
be saved from sin, until he feels it such a plague 
that he heartily sorrows for having committed it. 

2. Hatred of sin; for, while he loves it, he 
will not, he cannot, earnestly desire that his idol be 
slain. 

3. Turning from sin; for the idea of cleaving 
to sin, is utterly at variance with the existence of a 
strong desire to be saved from it. Such a desire, 
deep infixed, will lead him to cast away the accursed 
tiling. 

4. Such a desire to be saved from sin, implies 
a belief, or conviction of the mind, that such 
salvation is provided and possible. Rational desire 
does not take hold on impossibilities ; it can be 



36 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



exercised only where the object is at least probably 
attainable. This desire, therefore, embraces a measure 
of faith in the atonement of Christ, as the only 
foundation of a sinner's hope of salvation from sin. 
It does not, to be sure, imply, necessarily, the exercise 
of justifying faith; yet, a measure of faith must 
precede and accompany repentance, as well as follow 
it ; for, without such faith, the sinner will not receive 
God's denunciations of sin, nor, therefore, repent of it ; 
and, without such a measure of faith accompanying 
repentance, as enables the penitent, in some degree, 
to hope in the mercy of God through Christ, repentance 
would, at once, degenerate into despair, which must 
paralyze all effort, and even all desire. 

Now, this desire of salvation, comprehending, in 
its grasp, a full and complete salvation from sin, 
with all the degrees of faith and grace, may well 
accord with any particular degree of faith, from 
the lowest that can suffice for repentance, to the 
highest strength of a full assurance. This fixed, 
earnest desire, contains the living germ of all 
Christian faith and gracious blessings — most properly, 
therefore, such " desire to flee from the wrath 
to come, and be saved from sin" — and not a specific 
degree of faith or assurance, is made the term of 
admission into the visible Church of Christ. The 
desire is of such strength as to embrace all that God 
has promised ; but, as that may exist in connection 
with the various shades and progressive degrees of 
faith, the comprehensive, burning desire, and not a 
specified measure of faith produced by it, is made the 
standard of qualification. 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



37 



Now, with the qualifications of individual membership 
before us, let us look back, again, on the character 
of the society, as aggregately described: " Having a 
form of godliness" — not of mere morality^ but godli- 
ness — a course of blameless obedience and submission 
to the law of God, so far as man is capable of deciding 
on the moral quality of conduct. " And seeking the 
power of godliness.'' Longing for, inquiring, desiring, 
seeking it, as for hidden treasure. And laboring to 
" help each other to work out then salvation," by 
exhortations, by prayers, " by watching over each 
other in love." And then, " that it may be the more 
easily discerned, whether they are. indeed, working 
out their salvation," they are divided into smaller 
companies, which meet together often, to help each 
other forward in the way of salvation. Look, also, at 
the continuous evidence of the existence of such 
" a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and 
be saved from sin," that is required by the rule. 
" Wherever this is really fixed in the soul, it will be 
shown by its fruits." It is not a feeble, or a transient 
" desire ;" nor one playing on the passions ; but a 
"real," a "fixed" "desire" — a desire " fixed in tlie 
soul." And it is very justly premised, that where 
this truly is, it will produce fruit ; and where no fruits 
of righteousness are yielded, it is fairly inferred, that 
no such " real desire is fixed in the soul." It may 
have struggled for existence in the soul; it may have 
been entertained there transiently ; but it was not 
" fixed," planted, rooted, abidingly fastened there. 
In order, therefore, to determine, whether the desire 
be "real" or only apparent — whether it be " fixed," 



88 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



or but transient, fruit must be borne ; and the fruit 
required, is, " the avoiding of evil," " the doing 
of good," and " attendance on all the ordinances 
of God." Without such fruits, one is not permitted 
to " continue in these societies." And whosoever 
bears these fruits, has a right to a place in the Church 
of Christ. 

A great clamor has been made against the Methodist 
Church, because, as it is said, it admits to membership 
mere seekers of salvation. Now, it happens that the 
term " seeker" does not occur in the General Rules ; 
but if it did, the best of us can justly claim no 
higher character than seekers of salvation. Even an 
Apostle "counted not himself to have attained" to 
the extent of his desire ; but that desire prompted 
him " to leave the things that were behind, and press 
forward toward the mark for the prize." 

But if our term of admission be rejected, it will, we 
apprehend, be no very easy matter to fix on one that 
can be well defined and appropriate. 

If we are wrong, what, then, is the true standard 
of qualification ? The more general response is, 
u Believers, and they only, are entitled to membership 
in the Church of Christ." Very well ; but what must 
they believe, in order to secure to themselves the title 
of believers ? Here we get into confusion : one sect 
says, " You must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God, and the Saviour of men." This is right ; but 
this can only save from general infidelity ; and this 
alone, leaves the heart and conduct uninfluenced. 
Another says, it is " Repentance, whereby we forsake 
sin ; and Faith, whereby we steadfastly believe the 



TEEMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



39 



promises of God made to us in baptism." What those 
promises are, that we are to believe, is an entirely 
unsettled point among the Churches at large ; and, 
therefore, a most uncertain criterion to guide in so 
important a matter. Another Church says, it is to 
" Profess the true (Christian) religion, and submission 
to the laws of Christ." But does this "profession" 
imply a belief in its truth, simply, or a profession that 
you have assurance of its comforts in your hearts ? 
Not the latter, for this is not required, and scarcely 
admitted, by those subscribing the above rule ; and 
not the former alone, for this comprehends too little. 
Something indeterminate and undefined, between the 
two, seems to be intended; but so darkly shadowed" 
forth, as to form no rule of certainty to be relied on. 

Finally, a new type Methodist approaches the subject, 
determined to free the General Rules from the objections 
of adverse parties, and heroically resolving to surrender 
men, arms, and munitions, to save the fortress ; he 
declares, that, to be a believer, is to have " saving 
faith;" and that a desire to flee from the wrath to come, 
&c, is such saving faith. This is, in a sense, true, yet 
not very definitive. Every measure of faith, is saving 
faith, in some degree. The devil has faith that saves 
him from Atheism — for he believes there is one God 
— but it does not save him from the condition of a 
devil. A belief in the truth of God's Book, saves a 
man from infidelity, but not from sin. The " saving 
faith" in question, however, is evidently intended to 
mean more than this — to imply a faith that secures 
the spiritual and eternal salvation of its subject. With 
so much understood, then, what must be the strength 



40 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



of faith, and how much ground must it cover, to entitle 
its possessor to the character of a believer, and, 
consequently, to the privileges of the Church ? Must 
he believe that Christ redeemed him, and is willing 
to save him ? Thousands believe all this, who have 
no desire at all to be saved from their sins. Must he 
believe that Christ is willing to save him now f This 
is not true, unless he now truly repents, and earnestly 
desires to be saved from his sins ; and if he do thus 
repent, and desire to be saved from sin, yet, his 
humbling views of his sinfulness and demerits, may 
hinder him from believing the consoling truth. There- 
fore, not being a believer to this extent, he is not 
allowed access to the Church of Christ. And if he 
fully, trustingly, believes, that God, for Christ's sake, 
lias pardoned his sins, he is, to be sure, eligible to 
membership, under the rules of the different Churches ; 
yet, not one of them has made this state of assurance 
the standard of qualification for admission to the 
Church. And this most properly, too ; for the amount 
of testimony and comfort that would impart assurance 
to the heart of one man, might leave his equally 
sincere, but more timid and doubting brother, still 
unassured. 

We come back, therefore, to our own conditions 
of membership, as the only tangible, practical, and 
well defined one to be fixed on, and the best agreeing 
with the Word of Grod, and the usage of the Church 
in all ages. 



CHAPTER III. 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP— CONTINUED. 



Those entitled to claim the promises have a right to membership — 
Those promises shown to be for the contrite — Repentance the 
original condition of admission — Usages of the primitive Church 
in agreement with our rule — Modern Churches the same — This 
is the uniform doctrine of Methodists of every class. 

We think it safe to assume, that the man who is 
authorized to claim the gracious promises of God, is a 
suitable person to enjoy the benefits and privileges of 
the Church of God. And this we take to be the prin- 
ciple upon which the General Rules proceed. There is 
not, in the Book of God, a single gracious promise to 
the impenitent sinner, as such, nor a single threatening 
against the truly penitent. To the sincere penitent, 
" desirous to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved 
from sin," all the promises of grace and divine succor 
are as pointedly directed, as to the most matured saint 
or deeply experienced Christian. Take a few examples. 
" The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken 
heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Psa. 
xxxiv. 18. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; 
a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not 
despise." Psa. li. 17. " The Lord healeth the broken 
in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Ps. cxlvii. 3. 
" Thus saith the Lord, I dwell with him that is of a 
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
hu/hble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" 
4 



42 



TEEMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



Isa. lvii. 15. " The Lord hath sent me to bind up the 
broken hearted" Isa. lxi. 1. " To this man will I look, 
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and 
that trembleth at my word." Isa. lxvi. 2. "The Lord 
hath sent me to comfort all that mourn." Isa. lxi. 2. 
"I will turn their mourning into joy ; I will comfort 
them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow." 
Jer. xxxi. 13. Sincere contrition, or penitence, is the 
lowest state of grace ; that is, the state in which the 
heart first yields to gracious influences, willing to be led 
by them ; and, at this point, the promises of God meet 
the sinner, and come to his help. In the passages 
quoted, God says, he is "nigh" to such, "will not 
despise them," " saveth them," "dwells with them to 
revive them," &c. Now, can it be fairly supposed, 
that those to whom God speaks thus encouragingly, are 
unfit for the society of his people ? 

These promises are made to those who are contrite, 
broken-hearted, on account of sin ; and such contrition, 
we understand, to be an element of gospel repentance, 
but not the sum of it. Repentance, however, we 
understand to be fully comprehended in the condition of 
membership we are now considering; and this repen- 
tance is the grand condition of gospel grace and 
blessing. When John opened his ministry, he preached, 
" Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
Matt. hi. 1, And he required his hearers to " bring forth 
fruits meet for repentance." Matt. iii. 8. Here we 
have repentance, and the fruits of repentance, the same 
conditions that are prescribed in the General Rules. 

And "Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. iv. 17. 



TEUMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



43 



Both Christ and his forerunner preached repentance ; 
and both enforced the duty, by the consideration, that 
u the kingdom of heaven is at hand." That is, the 
kingdom of Christ — -the true Gospel Church — is about 
to be established in the world; therefore, repent. 
But why repent on this account ? That you may 
be prepared to enter that kingdom — that Church — 
repentance being the key by which the door of that 
kingdom is opened. Again ; Christ himself declares, 
that his mission was, " To call sinners to repentance." 
Mark ii. 17. And it " behooved Christ to suffer, and 
to rise from the dead, that repentance and remission 
of sins should be preached." Luke xxvi. 46-7. 
When the disciples were sent out by Christ, " they 
preached that men should repent." Mark vi. 12. 
So, on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the 
multitude, " Repent, and be baptized, in the name 
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." Acts ii. 38. 
John opened his ministry by preaching repentance ; 
Christ did the same ; his disciples preached on the 
same theme; and when the gospel dispensation was 
fully ushered in, on the day of Pentecost, repentance 
was still the burden of the Apostles' preaching. And 
when the gracious power of the gospel passed out, 
beyond the narrow limits of J ewry , and wrought its 
effects on Gentile hearts, the rejoicing of the saints 
was, that " God had also to the Gentiles granted 
repentance unto life." Acts xi. 13. 

Why did Christ upbraid the cities in which most 
of his mighty works were done? " Because they 
repented not." Why did he declare, that it would be 
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, at the day of 



44 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



judgment, than for those cities ? Because, with the 
same advantages, " they would have repented long 
ago, in sack cloth and ashes." TThy does he commend 
the men of Nineveh, as compared with those to whom 
lie had preached ? 44 Because they repented at the 
preaching of Jonah." At the very opening of the full 
gospel dispensation, this condition of admission into the 
Christian Church was proclaimed. Baptism is admitted 
to be the initiatory ordinance ; and, on the day of 
Pentecost, Peter prescribed repentance as the only 
precedent condition of admission into the Church by 
baptism. " Repent, and be baptized." Repentance 
was the only condition required, before admission to 
the initiatory sacrament of baptism. Why did not 
Peter require them, first, to have their sins remitted, 
then repent, and, finally, to be baptized, according to 
the teaching of the present times ? Either he had not 
heard of the new order of grace, or he was inclined 
to say, " the old is better." 

Repentance was clearly the condition of admission 
to the Christian Church, at the very commencement 
of it ; and we have not learned that Christ has instituted 
any new term, since the giving of the Holy Ghost. 

Now, that the condition laid down in our General 
Rules, fully comprehends repentance, is indisputable. 
A real desire fixed in the soul, to flee from the wrath to 
come, to be saved from sin, to possess the power of 
godliness, and to work out their salvation. 

Again : Christ, at the opening of his Sermon on the 
Mount, began that divine discourse by uttering this 
beatitude : " Blessed are fas poor in spirit ; for theirs 
is the kingdom of heaven." To be " poor in spirit," 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



45 



is to feel and lament our spiritual poverty, and 
earnestly to desire the true riches ; in other words, 
to be truly penitent, and desirous to be saved from 
sin. Of such cases, what does Christ say ? That 
they are " blessed," because " theirs is the kingdom 
of heaven." Does this mean that they have a gracious 
title to the kingdom of glory ? Then, surely, they 
are entitled to a place in the Church ; which, it will not 
be contended, is more pure than heaven itself. Or, 
does it mean the kingdom of grace in the soul ? Then, 
can we debar from the Church, one, in whose heart 
the reign of grace is already established ? But, does 
it signify the visible kingdom of Christ on earth — the 
Church ? Then are such its proper members ; for 
theirs is that kingdom. 

But Christ says unto those who are "heavy laden" 
with guilt, and "weary" of sin, "Come unto me, take 
my yoke upon you, and ye shall find rest to your souls." 
Are those whom Christ regarded as proper persons to 
come to him and find rest, unfit to come into his 
Church ? Is his militant Church more pure than its 
Head? or more select than he, in the character of 
those it will receive? And how are they to "come 
to Christ," but in the means and ordinances of grace, 
which he has entrusted to the hands of the Church, to 
be dispensed to those who are desirous to flee from 
wrath, and come unto him ? 

The usage of the Christian Church, in the primitive 
ages, is to the like effect. Lord King, in his " Primitive 
Church," (p. 99) quotes from Cyprian — "All those 
that were baptized were looked upon as members of 
the Church, and had a right to all the privileges 



46 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



thereof;" " except," adds Lord King, "they had been 
guilt j of gross and scandalous sins," in which case 
they were expelled, " and not admitted again, till, by 
penitence and holy deportment, they had testified their 
grief and sorrow for their unholy and irregular actions." 
These remarks apply specially to those baptized in 
infancy; and we see that, when they sinned openly, 
penitence and fruits of penitence — " holy deport- 
ment" — were the conditions of restoration to the 
fellowship of the Church. When adults applied for 
admission into the Church, they were first put under 
instruction as catechumens ; and when, in that character, 
" they had evinced the sincerity of their hearts by the 
sanctity and. purity of their lives, as Origen sayeth, " we 
initiate them into our mysteries." (Primitive Church, 
p. 101.) Justyn Martyr, one of the Fathers of the 
Church, says of such, that " when they had given good 
proofs of their resolutions to lead a pious, religious life, 
and had protested their assent and consent to all the 
Christian verities, they were baptized." Origen, 
another of the fathers, says, they were kept as catechu- 
mens, " that they might give demonstrations of the 
reality of their intentions, by the change of their lives 
and holiness of their conversation. Again he says, 
(Book iii., p. 142, &c.) that the Church did "inquire 
into their lives and carriage, to discern their seriousness 
in the profession of Christianity, and did require true 
repentance and reformation of life, and then we admit 
them to a participation of our mysteries." 

Bishop Stillingfieet says, " If we require positive 
evidences of grace in every one to be admitted to 
ordinances, as the only thing giving right, for my part, 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 47 



I see not how, with a safe and good conscience, 
ordinances can be administered by any. If positive 
signs of grace be required, a man's conscience cannot 
proceed upon any certainty, without infallible knowledge 
of another's spiritual state, which I suppose none will 
pretend to." (Irenicum, p. 164.) These remarks 
are part of an extended argument, employed to prove, 
that the primitive Church was constituted on the basis 
we have seen set forth in the General Rules. The 
same high authority says (p. 439) : " The congrega- 
tional men may despair of ever finding positive signs of 
grace in admission of Church members, in any law of 
Christ." Evidence to the same effect, as to the terms 
of admission into the Church during the first three 
centuries, might be multiplied indefinitely, but these 
may suffice. 

The principal Protestant Churches of the present 
time hold the doctrine in question, with regard to 
admissions into the Church, if we do not greatly mis- 
understand their accredited standards. These Churches 
may be classed as Presbyterial and as Episcopal ; and, 
as a sample of the first, we select the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States — a Church, supposed by 
many, to be strongly opposed to the condition of 
membership now under consideration. 

In the " Confession of Faith," ch. xxx., p. 129, it is 
declared, that the officers of the Church have power " to 
shut the Kingdom of Heaven against the impenitent, 
and to open it unto penitent sinners" Again, ch. xv., 
p. 66, "There is no sin so great, that it can bring 
damnation upon those who truly repent." In the 
Larger Catechism, it is prescribed, that infants of one 



48 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



believing parent, are entitled to receive the sacrament 
of baptism ; and, by baptism, " the parties baptized, 
are solemnly admitted into the visible Church." 
(Confession of Faith, p. 287.) 

These children, thus admitted to the Church, " are 
to be taught to read and repeat the Catechism, 
the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer — 
to pray, to abhor sin, to fear God, and to obey 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And, when they come 
to years of discretion, if they be free from scandal, 
appear sober and steady, and to have sufficient 
knowledge to discern the Lord's body, they ought to 
be informed, that it is their duty and privilege to 
come to the Lord's Supper.''' 

It is here seen, that the Presbyterian Church 
admits to its communion, and to its highest sealing 
ordinances, those who have no higher claim than that 
of having been baptized in infancy — being " free from 
scandal, appearing sober and steady, and having 
sufficient knowledge to discern the Lord's body." 
Again : in the Larger Catechism, it is said, " One 
who doubteth his being in Christ — if he be duly affected 
with the apprehension of his want of it, and unfeignedly 
desires to be found in Christ, and to depart from 
iniquity — in such case, he is to bewail his unbelief, 
and labor to have his doubts resolved ; and so doing, 
he may, and ought, to come to the Lord's Supper, 
thai he may be further strengthened." (Confession 
of Faith, p, 293.) Here the doubting penitent is 
permitted, and even required, to participate in the 
highest sealing ordinance provided for the members 
of Christ's Church- 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



4-9 



Again: in the form of excommunication, the 
Moderator sajs to the offender: " We declare you 
suspended from the sacraments of the Church, till 
you give satisfactory evidence of the sincerity of your 
repentance." (Confession of Faith, p. 438.) "When 
the judicatory shall be satisfied, as to the reality of 
the repentance of any offender, he shall be permitted 
to profess his repentance, and be restored to the 
privileges of the Church; which restoration shall 
be declared to the penitent, in the presence of the 
Session," &c. (Confession of Faith, p. 438.) Here 
the offender is expelled, until he truly repents; 
and repentance is the only condition required, in 
order to his restoration ; and the reclaimed and 
restored Church member is characterized as " the 
penitent" All this is in most perfect harmony 
with the doctrine of our General Rules on this 
subject. 

It is true, that, in case of unbaptized adults applying 
for membership, " they shall, in ordinary cases, after 
giving satisfaction, with respect to their knowledge 
and piety, make a public profession of their faith;" 
(Confession of Faith, p. 436) yet this faith, thus 
publicly professed, does not here define itself as implying 
& positive assurance of pardon; nor is such interpreta- 
tion given to it by the Church judicatories ; for, so far 
as we are informed, so much as this is never required 
by them, of candidates, as essential to membership. 
Indeed, the adopted terminology of that Church, 
avoids the language of strong assurance, and usually 
expresses this " profession of faith," by the less 
confident phrase, of having * 4 obtained a hope." 

5 



50 



TERMS OP MEMBERSHIP. 



The Protestant Episcopal Church, we select, as a 
sample of the other class of Protestant Churches. 
The condition of admission into that Church, and the 
Church of England, are the same ; and in both they 
are essentially the same with the Methodist Church — • 
differing only in the details. 

Infants are inducted into the Church by baptism — ■ 
baptismal vows being taken by their sponsors in their 
behalf — and, 'on arriving at years of discretion, they 
are required to re-affirm their vows in their own 
persons. In those vows, they promise to renounce 
the devil, the world, and the flesh, and not follow, or 
be led by them ; to believe the " Apostles' Creed," 
and obediently keep the commandments of God. 
These, with baptism, and a form of reception, called 
" confirmation," are the only required conditions of 
membership. In the baptismal prayer for adults, this 
petition occurs : " We call upon thee for these persons, 
that they, coming to thy holy baptism, may receive 
remission of their sins, by spiritual regeneration." 
Herein it is assumed, that the person entering the 
Church by the door of baptism, is seeking " pardon 
and spiritual regeneration ;" but that he has not yet 
attained assurance of that grace. Again: in the 
Catechism, we have the initiatory sacrament of baptism 
thus treated : " Question. What is required of persons 
to be baptized ? Ansiver. Repentance, whereby they 
forsake sin ; and faith, whereby they steadfastly 
believe the promises of God made to them in that 
sacrament." 

The liturgy of the English Church, in the following 
passage, is to the like effect: "Dearly beloved 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



51 



brethren, the Scripture moveth us, in sundry places, 
to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and 
wickedness, and that we should not dissemble, nor 
cloak them, before the face of Almighty God, our 
Heavenly Father ; but confess them, with an humble, 
lowly, penitent, and obedient heart, to the end that we 
may obtain forgiveness of the same." This admonition 
is addressed to the Church especially. The terms 
of admission to the Lord's Supper — the higher sealing 
ordinance — are very clearly set forth, in the form 
of invitation, in the communion service : "Ye who do 
truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in 
love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to 
lead a new life, following the commandments of God, 
and walking, from henceforth, in his holy ways ; draw 
near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your 
comfort." Sincere and earnest repentance, a deter- 
mination to lead a new life, obedience to the commands 
of God, and love and charity to man, are the conditions 
upon which admission is claimed to the highest 
privileges of the Church. 

That the doctrine in question is a tenet of Methodism, 
has, we think, never, until recently, been called in 
question ; and we have yet to find the first one of the 
old Methodist ministers, who withholds his assent from 
it. If such dissent is to be met with, it is probably 
confined to the younger ministers, and has been 
resorted to, to break the force of opposition, on the 
part of the other Churches, which treat it as an 
exceptionable peculiarity of Methodism. That it is 
not a regulation peculiar to our Church, is quite clear, 
from what has been said on this subject : but, though 



52 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



not peculiar to our Church, it is, at least, a doctrine 
we rather glory in than deny. 

We have already seen, that the first of the " United 
Societies," instituted by Mr. Wesley, was reared on 
this platform ; and this society became the nucleus, 
first, of the Wesleyan Methodist connection in Great 
Britain ; then, of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
America. These General Rules were adopted, and 
respected, as of binding force in this country, from the 
first formation of Methodist societies. And when 
the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 
the United States, in 1784, they were received as the 
law of the Church ; and, of course, the condition of 
membership therein specified for the original " United 
Societies," and afterwards for the American Methodist 
Societies, was retained as the condition of admission 
into the newly organized Church. To render this 
more clear and certain, we find, in several of the early 
editions of the Discipline — say from 1789 to 1796 — 
the introduction to these Rules was omitted, and the 
language originally applying them to the " United 
Societies," was so changed as to apply them, specifically, 
to the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and, instead of 
reading, " Such a society is no other than a company 
of men," &c, the reading is, " Our society (Church) 
is no other than a company of men, having the form, 
and seeking the power, of godliness, united, to fray 
together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to 
ivatch over one another in love, that they may help each 
other to work out their salvation." 

This language our fathers used, to describe the 
character of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and 



TERMS OE MEMBERSHIP. 



they add, with specific reference to the Church, 
that " there is but one condition previously required 
of those who desire admission — a desire to flee 
from the wrath to come, and to he saved from 
their sins." This is full to the point, and clear 
beyond the possibility of mistake, if we allow the 
fathers of the Church to have understood the principles 
of their own organization. But this primary position 
is fully corroborated, by all the correlative elements 
of the system bearing on the same subject. 

One corroborating fact is, that, while the above 
condition is definitely prescribed, and applied to the 
matter of membership in the Church, there is nothing 
in the Discipline that at all disagrees therewith. 

A second fact, bearing in the same direction, is, that, 
while sincere repentance and obedience constitute the 
term of Church membership, there was provision made 
for a society within the Church, (we refer to the 
Bands) wherein assurance of pardon was required, in 
order to admission. There, the first question put to 
the candidate, was, " Have you forgiveness of sins ?" 
And this was followed by four others, of equal import, 
or even stronger. Had it been intended to make the 
condition of membership in the Church, and in the 
Bands, the same, it is strange, that, in the first case, 
the conditions named in the General Rules should 
have been so strongly expressed, and in various forms 
of language ; while, in the instance of Bands, a totally 
different condition is as clearly prescribed, and varied 
in at least five forms of interrogation, no one of which 
is comprised in the specified term of Church member- 
ship. 



54 



TERMS OE MEMBERSHIP. 



A third fact is, that, in the initiatory sacrament 
of baptism, the candidate is not required to declare 
himself in a justified relation to God, but promises to 
renounce the world, the flesh, and Satan ; to believe 
the doctrines of the gospel, and faithfully to obey the 
commandments of God. 

Fourthly. In inviting communicants to the Lord's 
Supper, the invitation, in our Church — as we have 
seen in the Protestant Episcopal Church — is not 
restricted to those professing a full assurance of 
pardon ; but extended to those " who do truly repent 
of their sins, and are in love and fellowship with their 
neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, obeying the 
commandments of God," &c. 

And this principle obtains, prominently, in all the 
branches of the Methodist family, both in Europe and 
America. So the Methodist Protestant Church — 
which rejects the distinctive peculiarities of Episcopal 
Methodism — adopts the General Rules, commencing 
with the passage, " There is one only condition 
required of those who desire admission— a desire to 
flee from the wrath to come, and be saved from 
their sms." The same element is incorporated into 
the second Article of their Constitution : " There is 
only one condition required of those who apply for 
membership in the Protestant Methodist Church — 
a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and, be saved 
by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
with an avowed determination to walk in all the 
commandments of Grod blameless" And, in taking 
baptismal vows, the question is asked, " Are you now 
determined, by the aid of divine grace, to forsake 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



55 



every evil way, to look to Christ as your only and all 
sufficient Saviour, and to walk in all the commandments 
of God ?" Again : the invitation to the Lord's Supper, 
is given in the language quoted from the service of 
the Church of England, the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church : " You 
who do truly and sincerely repent of your sins," &c. 

A general Church organization was formed in 1826, 
by delegates from a number of secessions in different 
States, styled " The Methodist Societies." Their 
chapter on admitting members into the Church, is 
introduced by the quotation from the General Rules, 
stating that the society " is only a company of men, 
having the form, and seeking the power, of godli- 
ness," &c. And, in specifying the requisites of 
Church membership more fully, the other passage 
given already several times, is quoted : " There is but 
one condition required of those who desire admission" 
&c. ; "a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and be 
saved from their sins ;" and the avoiding of evil, doing 
good, and observance of gospel ordinances, are required 
as evidence of that desire. The same is true, in fact, 
if not precisely in form, of all the branches of the 
Methodist family, wherever found. 



CHAPTER IV. 
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP— CONCLUDED, 



Cause of the controversy, wrong views of the work of grace on 
the heart — Eull assurance an impracticable condition, and 
required by no Church — Opinions of Fletcher and Wesley 
— A Methodist opposer of the doctrine, refuted by Wesley — 
Absurdity of the opposite theory shown in five particulars. 

A cause which has led to controversy on this 
subject, is, as we believe, the want of a right 
understanding of the work of grace on the heart, 
and a want of clear and just ideas attached to leading 
terms employed in relation to that work. There are 
many who seem to recognize no middle ground, 
between being under the Divine displeasure, and being 
assured of pardon. And " saving faith," and being a 
" believer," are employed to designate the spiritual 
condition entitling persons to membership in the 
Church ; and reproach has been cast on us, because, 
in terms, we do not require either as such condition ; 
while those terms are employed in senses so indeter- 
minate and various, that they convey no distinct idea 
of the spiritual state. In the minds of some, those 
terms imply the evidence of justification ; and, in this 
sense, they are generally understood by Methodists, 
when employed by them in connection with this 
subject. With others, they imply a state of penitence, 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



57 



in which the soul is disposed to submit to God; and 
persons believed to be in such a state, are often told 
that they are true "believers;" that they have 
" saving faith," and are in a proper state to be 
received into the Church. 

The fact is, that when a man possesses the qualities 
required in our General Rules, he is within the range 
and provision of gospel promises ; and, in that state, 
is not a child of wrath, nor can he, without losing that 
state, be lost ; and yet he may not have that trusting 
faith that saves from doubt, and assures him of 
pardon and acceptance. This state of sincere, humble, 
obedient, but doubting penitence, is sometimes of long 
duration, before the state of assurance is fully 
attained. 

Now, in determining the point in the progress of 
gracious experience, at which persons are properly 
admissible to the Church, it is evident we must either, 

1. Fix on the state of .full assurance — but which state 
is not required by the Word of God, or by any 
Christian Church, as a condition of membership ; and 
need not, therefore, be further considered here. Or, 

2. On the point of penitent surrender, and fixed 
religious resolve, which brings the soul into an heirship 
of gospel promises — and which is the condition pre- 
scribed in the General Rules. Or, 3. We must fix 
on some definite point between these two stages of 
gracious experience. And this attempt has produced 
the great embarrassment in the case ; for there is no 
such definite point there : it is the period of doubting, 
hoping, unassured penitence ; and any attempt to 
define a point in that period of " neither darkness nor 



58 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



light," that can be safely relied on as that at which 
the subject should be admitted to the Church, seems 
singularly unreasonable. The beginning and the end 
of this morning twilight, are well denned ; the first is 
bounded by darkness ; the second, by the clear light 
of assurance : but between them is only misty twilight, 
in the dimness of which " men are seen as trees 
walking." 

Now, at what point in this contest between hope 
and fear, doubt and trust, darkness and light, does 
the- penitent become a child of light, and entitled to a 
place with the people of God ? The subject himself 
cannot determine, for he is in doubt ; and his feelings 
will not indicate his true state ; for, often the hour 
of deepest darkness to his feelings, is just before the 
breaking forth of the sun. And it is a most perilous 
thing for friends, or sessions, to say to him — guided 
by the best indications in their reach — " Come not into 
the household of God, for you are a child of wrath, an 
unbeliever ;" when, for ought they can possibly know, 
he may be accepted of God : or, on the other hand, 
to say, " Peace, peace, thou hast saving faith, and art 
a child of God ;" when he may not have had the great 
deep of his heart fully broken up ; and, by such human 
assurances, may be induced to build his hope of 
salvation on a false and destructive basis. 

The only safe and Scriptural mode of proceeding, 
therefore, seems to be, to receive him who appears to 
be earnestly desirous to flee from the wrath to come, 
and be saved from his sins, not as a son, but a servant; 
not because he has already attained assurance, but 
because he ardently desires it ; and, instead of giving 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



59 



him a human assurance of pardon, teach him that God 
will, if he persevere aright, send forth the spirit of 
adoption " into his heart," and he shall give the full 
assurance, short of which he must never rest satisfied ; 
that his reception among the people of God indicates, 
not a specific measure of faith or grace in him, but 
only their -confidence in his sincere desire to flee from 
the wrath to come, and their willingness to aid him in 
working out his salvation. 

That this doctrine and practice is not only in 
accordance with the general teachings of Methodism, 
as it now is, but those of its founders, will appear 
quite clear, from the following quotations from the 
writings of Mr. Fletcher, and those of Mr. Wesley. 

Mr. Fletcher says : — 

" If it be urged, that the Spirit of God witnesses to all sincere 
seekers of the kingdom of God, that they are in a damnable 
state, till they feel the pardoning ' love of God shed abroad in 
their hearts, by the Holy Ghost given to them;' I deny the 
fact ; and assert, that the Divine Spirit can no more bear witness 
to an accepted mourning Cornelius, that he is not accepted in 
any sense, than it can give testimony to a palpable contradiction. 
The truth is, our unbelieving fears and awakened hearts, are 
very prone to surmise the worst, and we are very apt to take 
their surmisings for divine impressions, even when we ' bring 
forth fruits worthy of repentance.' I doubt not but St. Paul 
himself, in his agony of penitential grief, when he spent three 
days and three nights in fasting and prayer, had many such 
gloomy thoughts ; but they were certainly lying thoughts, as 
well as those which David wisely checks, in some of his psalms. 
Who will dare to say, that Ananias found the Apostle in a 
damnable state, though he found him without a sense of sin 
forgiven, as appears from the direction which he gave him : 
4 Arise ; why tarriest thou ? Wash away thy sins, calling upon ' 
(and consequently believing in) ' the name of the Lord.' 



60 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



" My objector's argument is as much levelled at St. Paul's 
doctrine, as at my essay : ' Men and brethren,' &c, said he to 
his audience, at Antioch, ' whosoever among you feareth God, 
to you is the word of this salvation sent." Acts xiii. 26. But 
none of the pious hearers whom he thus addressed, were unwise 
enough to reply : ' Thou acknowledgest that we fear God ; and 
David says, ' Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord.' Now, 
if we fear him and are blessed, we are already in a state of 
salvation ; and, therefore, need not this salvation which thou 
preachest.' I demand proof, therefore, that men who fear God, 
in our day, are more ready to draw pernicious inferences from 
the doctrine of the dispensations, than they were in St. Paul's 
time. 

l ' The objection which I answer, may, with equal propriety, 
be urged against St. Peter's doctrine. Acts ii. 5 ; and x. 7, 
we read of ' devout men out of every nation under heaven,' and 
of a ' devout soldier,' that waited, continually, on Cornelius, 
who, himself, ' feared God, wrought righteousness, and was 
accepted — with all his house.' By Acts xi. 9, 14, it evidently 
appears, that, though Cornelius was cleansed by God himself, 
yet he must send for Peter, who was to ' tell him words whereby 
he and all his house should be saved;' that is, should become 
partakers of the great salvation revealed by the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ. But, although St. Peter began his discourse, by 
acknowledging that his pious hearers were accepted with God, 
none of the congregation said, 'Well, if we are accepted, we 
are already in a state of salvation ; and, therefore, we need not 
hear words whereby we shall be saved.' It is plain, from this 
account, that no preaching was ever attended with a more 
universal blessing — was so instrumental in conveying to all, the 
power of the faith of assurance, as that very sermon which the 
Apostle began, by intimating that his hearers were already 
accepted, according to an inferior dispensation. Hence, it is 
evident that the doctrine we maintain, if it be properly 
guarded, far from having a necessary tendency to lull people 
asleep, is admirably calculated to excite every penitent to 
faith, prayer, and the perfecting of holiness." Checks, vol. i. 
pp. 577-580. 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



61 



Mr. Wesley remarks: — 

" Tuesday, December 1, (1767.) Being alone in the coach, 
- I was considering several points of importance, and thus much 
appeared clear as the day : — 

" That a man may be saved, who cannot express himself 
properly concerning imputed righteousness. Therefore, to do 
this, is not necessary to salvation; that a man may be saved, 
who has not clear conceptions of it ; (yea, that never heard the 
phrase ;) therefore, clear conceptions of it are not necessary to 
salvation ; yea, it is not necessary to salvation to use the phrase 
at all. That a pious Churchman, who has not clear conceptions, 
even of justification by faith, may be saved. Therefore, clear 
conceptions, even of this, are not necessary to salvation. That 
a Mystic, who denies justification by faith, (Mr. Law, for 
instance,) may be saved. If so, is it not high time for us 

( To throw aside big bombastic words;' 

and return to the plain word, ' He that feareth God, and 
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." (Vol iv. 
(Jour.) p. 269. 

Again he says:— 

"But, what is the faith which is properly saving ; which brings 
eternal salvation to all those that keep it to the end? It is such 
a divine conviction of God, and the things of God, as, even in 
its infant state, enables every one that possesses it, to '■fear God 
and work righteousness? And whosoever, in every nation, 
believes thus far, the Apostle declares, 1 is accepted of him.' 
He actually is, at that very moment, in a state of acceptance. 
But he is, at present, only a servant of God, not properly a son. 
Meantime, let it be well remembered, that l the wrath of God' 
no longer 1 abideth on him.' 

" Indeed, near fifty years ago, when the preachers, commonly 
called Methodists, began to preach that grand Scriptural 
doctrine, salvation by faith, they were not sufficiently apprised 
of the difference between a servant and a child of God. They 
did not clearly understand, that, every one ' who feareth God 
and worketh righteousness,' is accepted of him. In consequence 



02 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



of this, tliey were apt to make sad the hearts of those whom God 
had not made sad. For they frequently asked those who feared 
God, ' Do you know that your sins are forgiven ?' And upon 
their answering, ' No,' immediately replied, ' Then you are a 
child of the devil.' No; that does not follow. It might have 
been said, (and it is all that can be said, with propriety,) 
'Hitherto you are only a servant; you are not a child of God. 
You have already great reason to praise God, that he has called 
you to his honorable service. Fear not; continue crying to 
him, and you shall see greater things than these.'" Yol. ii. 
(Sermons) pp. 385, 386. 

And farther : — 

" They whom God has chosen out of the world ; namely, ' by 
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth ;' are set in 
direct opposition to those whom he hath not so chosen. Yet 
again ; ' those who know not him that sent me,' saith the Lord ; 
who know not God; they are of the world. Those, on the 
contrary, are of God, who love God, or, at least, 1 fear him, and 
keep his commandments.' This is the lowest character of those 
that 'are of God;' who are not properly sons, but servants; 
who depart from evil, and study to do good, and walk in all his 
ordinances, because they have the fear of God in their hearts, 
and a sincere desire to please him. Fix in your hearts this 
plain meaning of the terms, 'the w&rldr those who do not thus 
fear God. Let no man deceive you with vain words : it means 
neither more nor less than this." Wesley's Works, (Sermon on 
"Friendship with the World") vol. ii. p. 193. 

Here we have the doctrines of the General Rules, 
and those we have herein laid down ; and, indeed, they 
constitute a part of that system of evangelical theology, 
the preaching of which, by Mr. Wesley and his 
coadjutors, produced, under God, the great reformation 
which has, for an hundred years, been spreading 
abroad. That doctrine is, that the Spirit of God 
visits all hearts, convincing them of sin ; when thus 



TERMS OP MEMBERSHIP, 



63 



convicted, the awakened sinner either resists that 
grace, and so becomes more hardened ; or he 
begins to sorrow for his sins, and to yield to the 
gracious influence. In the latter case, here commences 
repentance unta life ; and the penitent becomes heir 
to the promises of the gospel, begins to " fear God 
and (attempt to) work righteousness ;" and he now 
possesses the character of a servant, though not 
properly a child of God, because he has not yet 
received the spirit of adoption, the witness of the 
spirit, or the faith of assurance. The interval between 
this first penitent yielding to the Spirit of God, and 
the full assurance of faith, may be very brief, or it 
may be protracted to weeks, months, or years. Now, 
in the instances in which this state is so protracted 
as to demand special treatment, what is to be done 
with this penitent? Is he to be treated as still an 
alien enemy, or to be regarded as a child of God ? 
Neither the one nor the other. 

At this point, Mr. Wesley, for a time, was greatly 
embarrassed. He and Mr. Fletcher were zealous 
advocates of the doctrine of assurance — the witness 
of the Spirit — and were quite at fault, in disposing 
of a subject upon whose spiritual state Christ has 
pronounced a blessing, but who was still unassured'. 
This embarrassment was rather increased than relieved, 
by the fact, that some of the Churches at that day — as 
well as at this — and they, too, the Churches claiming 
to be more evangelical, held, that a soul is first 
regenerated, and afterwards is brought to repentance. 
According to this doctrine, regeneration is the first 
step in the way of personal salvation ; and as repentance 



64 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



is held, by this theory, as following after regeneration, 
whenever one gave evidence of genuine repentance, 
the inference was authorized by the premises, that he 
was regenerated, and so a child of God. So much 
was evident from the premises ; but Messrs. "Wesley 
and Fletcher could not be satisfied with mere 
inferential evidence of acceptance with God ; and 
hence their difficulty in disposing of the case of the 
unassured penitent. The elementary theological truths 
pertaining to the subject, furnished a solution of the 
problem. Repentance was seen to be the starting 
point, both in gospel command and gospel promises, 
and must, therefore, precede regeneration ; otherwise, 
there might be regenerated souls who were impenitent . 
And hence, too, what was looked on as an incon- 
trovertible truism — that a man must be a child of God, 
or a child of the devil — was, by consequence, exploded ; 
for they saw that the sincere penitent was under 
blessings, and not curses ; that God rather smiled than 
frowned on him, though he was yet unassured ; and 
that, in this state, he had ceased to be an enemy, and 
had become a servant, though not a son of God ; that 
he was accepted, not rejected, though not adopted 
or assured by the witness of the Spirit ; and that, 
consequently, whom God rejects not, but blesses with 
ore at and precious promises, the Church of Christ 
is bound to receive, and " gently lead" into the light 
of gospel assurance. 

Had Mr. Wesley received the doctrine noticed 
above, that repentance is a subsequent of regeneration, 
he could not have consistently prescribed the term 
of Church membership he did ; for it has its foundation 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



65 



in the great elements of that system of theology which 
he received as divine. How absurd, then, is it, in a 
Methodist, to adopt the very theory on the subject 
of repentance and regeneration, the rejection of which, 
by Mr. Wesley, was the basis upon which he laid 
down the General Ride in question; and, especially, 
to attempt the support of that rule, by the doctrines 
of that antagonistic theology. 

But, since one Methodist writer, at least, has 
espoused the doctrine, that regeneration goes before 
repentance, and that sincere penitence is saving faith, 
and has not only employed Calvinistic authorities to 
prove his position, but has attempted to fix the same 
doctrine on Mr. Wesley, it may be well for that 
venerated man to defend himself against the aspersion 
of one of his sons. That son, after stating his own 
opinions, and giving his Calvinistic authorities to the 
above effect, adds : — 

" If any doubt of this fact remain : if any doubt remain, that 
Mr. Wesley's mature and final judgment, as to the nature of the 
faith by which a sinner is justified, was entirely coincident with 
the other authorities, cited on the same subject, its last vestige 
must vanish before the ensuing testimony." 

And then gives one of the passages we have before 
inserted, as the evidence of Mr. Wesley's agreement 
with him and his authorities. But the following 
language of Mr. Wesley, must set this matter right. 
He says, speaking of " present forgiveness — pardon 
of sins — " I believe the condition of this is faith, 
(Romans iv. 5, &c.,) I mean, not only that without 
faith we cannot be justified, but, also, that as soon as 
6 



66 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



any one has true faith, in that moment he is 
justified." 

"It is allowed, also, that repentance, and fruits 
meet for repentance, go before faith. (Mark i. 15 ; 
Matthew iii. 8.) Repentance MUST absolutely go 
before faith ; fruits meet for it, if there be opportunity. 
By repentance, I mean conviction of sin, producing 
real desires, and sincere resolutions of amendment ; 
and by fruits meet for repentance, forgiving our 
brother, (Matthew vi. 14, 15,) ceasing from evil, 
doing good, (Luke iii. 4, 9, &c.,) using the ordinances 
of God ; and, in general, obeying him according to 
the measure of grace which we have received.' ' 
(Matthew vii. T ; xxv. 29.) Wesley's Works, vol. v. 
p. 35. And in this state, according to the doctrines 
before quoted from Mr. Wesley, the penitent is " an 
accepted servant," though not an " adopted son." 

But the correctness of the doctrine we are advo- 
cating, may be farther shown, from the absurdity and 
impracticability of the opposite one, which may be 
noticed in several particulars ; among them these 
following : — 

First. It assumes that the Church, which is 
designed to aid the children of men in the way to 
heaven, can admit to none of her ordinances, or 
peculiar privileges, the "humble and contrite ones" 
with whom God " delights to dwell;" but requires 
them to struggle without her direct aid, in their time 
of greatest extremity, until they can profess themselves 
in a regenerated state. 

Second. It gives an advantage, in the matter of 
Church membership and gospel ordinances, to the 



TERMS OE MEMBERSHIP. 



67 



confident, if not even the hypocrite, over the more 
diffident and self-distrustful. The first named classes 
might make the required profession with little ground 
of assurance, or none at all ; while the more humble, 
with better claims, would not be likely to make an 
equally strong profession. 

Third. Under the appearance of elevating the 
standard of qualification for Church membership, 
its practical tendency is, to lower the standard of 
Christian experience. For, when a true penitent is 
seen earnestly struggling for deliverance, but not 
assured of pardon, the officers of the Church, and 
others, convinced of his sincerity, and sympathizing in 
his mental distress, are strongly inclined to afford 
relief, by offering him the privileges of the Church ; 
but, as this cannot be done without a profession of 
saving faith, he is encouraged to lay hold on the 
weaker evidences of that state, and thus be able to 
claim a place in the Church. Accordingly, when the 
Church is willing to receive him, he feels authorized 
to infer his justified state. Whereas, when he is 
taught to believe, that the Church is the place in 
which the sincere penitent may seek assurance, as 
well as enjoy it, his admission there does not give 
him the endorsement of the Church — as in the other 
case — that he is already in a pardoned state. 

And, in point of fact, we think it will be conceded, 
without much controversy, that the lesser evidences 
of a pardoned state are most readily admitted and 
relied on, in those Churches where a profession of 
saving faith is required as a condition of mem- 
bership. 



68 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



As evidence of this, we give a few of the quotations 
cited by the writer before alluded to, to overturn the 
doctrine of these Rules: "True faith does not give 
an assurance of our interest in Christ." " The first 
time of receiving, or acting, saving grace, cannot, 
ordinarily, be known." u Assurance is not the 
ordinary lot of true Christians, but only of a few 
of the strongest and most obedient. Those few that 
do attain to assurance, have it not constantly." Yet, 
these writers would not receive one who earnestly 
" desires to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved 
from sin," though they allow the faith of constant 
assurance to no Christian. 

Fourth. It rejects the only safe rule given us 
by Jesus Christ, by which to judge of Christian 
character — " By their fruits ye shall know them" — 
and substitutes one unsafe and unauthorized — that 
of simple profession. For, as the Church cannot see 
the heart, or discern the spirit, the only evidence that 
can be procured, is, the profession of the candidate ; 
unless the growth of the fruits of righteousness be 
waited for, and one who professes justification, be 
kept from his Church privileges, until this evidence 
also be given. . 

Fifth. It institutes an impracticable condition ; for 
it is the right and duty of the Church, to judge of the 
qualifications of candidates for admission to member- 
ship ; and if certain evidence of a regenerated state 
be required, none but God can know the certainty 
of that state ; and, as Stillingfleet most justly remarks, 
on this condition, the Church could never determine 
that any candidate is in the proper state for admission 



TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP. 



69 



into the Church. The fact, therefore, of requiring 
the candidate to be in a state which no one can know 
another to be in, is requiring an impossibility of the 
Church, as a term of membership. 

Upon our plan — which we understand to be that 
of the gospel — the difficulties in question, are, as we 
believe, fully obviated. When candidates profess 
penitence, and a determination to seek salvation 
through Christ, bringing forth fruits of repentance, 
we invite them, in the name of Christ, to enter the 
outer courts of the Church, enjoy its nursing and 
instruction, that they may be aided in working out 
their salvation, and give satisfactory evidence of their 
sincerity. When they have given that evidence, by 
their conduct, that they are truly sincere and earnest 
in their determination to seek their salvation, we give 
them a cordial welcome to all the privileges and 
ordinances of the Church, and extend to them what 
aid we can, in the way of salvation, without authorizing 
them to infer hence, that they enjoy entire justification ; 
but, rather, that we belive them, if they have not 
actually attained, to be truly seeking that grace. 



CHAPTER V. 
PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



Principle of probation practically acknowledged in every department 
of life — The analogy of Scripture usage to the same effect — 
This was the practice of the primitive Chiirch — proof — It 
is virtually the usage of modern Churches — Qualifications 
for probationership — Sights and privileges of those on trial — 
Probationers not members of the Church — Primitive Church 
usage — Difference between probationers and members — How they 
may be dismissed — Requisites for advancement to membership. 

Although the General Rules do not prescribe a 
probationary relation, that feature was early engrafted 
into the original system, as properly belonging to it, 
and necessary to the carrying out of its practical 
operations ; and we therefore notice the relation in 
this connection. 

The receiving members, on trial, into our Church, 
is a matter that has been much objected to by other 
Churches, and not unfrequently made a subject of 
ridicule ; and we have, probably, not been as careful 
as duty required, to place this subject in its proper 
light before the public. That it is right and necessary, 
we shall endeavor to establish. 

First. The principle of probation is one, the pro- 
priety of which has a practical acknowledgment in 
every department of life into which we may look. 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



71 



If we would employ an agent, a workman, a teacher, 
or clerk, we are wont to take him on trial. For, 
if he even come fully avouched for, as possessing the 
required qualities, that avouchment, if good, is given 
as the result of a previous trial, in some form. But, 
we do not commit our interests and reputation to his 
hands, without a trial — a practical proof — of his ability 
and integrity, made under our own supervision, or on 
evidence that such trial has been made by others. 

On admitting one to membership in the Church, 
we entrust to him, in some measure, the interests and 
reputation of the household of faith ; and, surely, a 
step so important, demands as much prudence and 
circumspection as the temporary interests we so 
carefully guard, by requiring a trial, or practical 
proof of qualifications, before our full confidence can 
be given. It has been objected, that we require a 
service of probation of all, even such as profess 
assurance of faith, and such as have long been 
consistent Christians — but not of our communion — 
who are rightfully entitled to membership, uncon- 
ditionally, and immediately. With regard to the first 
case, we reply, that a naked profession of assurance, 
as it may be the result of self-deception or of 
hypocrisy, is not the best evidence, nor such as the 
Church is authorized to rely on, when that of a more 
reliable character can be had, in addition, without 
injury to the candidate, and with better security to 
the Church. With regard to the other case, one 
who sustains a fair Christian character, in another 
Christian Church, on application to ours for admission, 
is received, at once, into full fellowship ; because, 



72 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



having passed a probation in another Church, whether 
with or without the name, we require not a second 
trial; just as a man, or company, would receive an 
agent, on evidence of his having been already tried. 
As to any who may profess to be religious, but connect 
not themselves with any branch of the Church, they 
are under the care and supervision of no recognized 
authority, are amenable to no body for their religious 
conduct, and their religious character cannot, therefore, 
be vouched for, by any body, that can be recognized 
by a Christian Church. 

Another analogy, in point, is this : a foreigner 
immigrates to this country, and wishes to become a 
citizen ; but, in order to secure this right, he is 
required, not only to give notice, according to the 
forms of law, of his intention, or wish, to that effect, 
but is required, also, to undergo, a term of probation, 
extending to years. The immigrant was ready, at 
the first, to swear allegiance to the government, and 
profess the purity of his republican principles ; but 
this is not sufficient, without a term of probation, in 
which he is expected to give practical proof of the 
soundness and sincerity of his professions. It is true, 
that a citizenship in Spain, for example, will not afford 
the immigrant any claim to civil rights here — as 
membership in another Church enables one to enter 
our Church without a probation — because the difference 
between the two governments, and the rights of 
citizenship under them, are so great, that qualification 
for the one, affords not even a presumption of suitable- 
ness for the other. But, in the instance of the 
professor of religion connected with no Church, we 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



73 



recover the analogy again ; for, though the immigrant 
may come to the country, profess love for its govern- 
ment, and reside here many years, until he makes his 
declaration of a wish to become " naturalized," his 
probation for citizenship does not begin to run ; 
because, whatever his professions or conduct, he has 
placed himself in no relation to the government, and, 
therefore, is to the government an alien; as the 
professor of religion is to the Church, who has applied 
for no affiliation to it. 

Second. Christ has not authorized the Church, or 
its officers, to form a judgment of character, and, 
especially, in a matter so important, upon a mere 
profession of required qualities, on the part of the 
person applying for Church privileges ; but has pre- 
scribed a safer and more practicable rule of judging 
and action: "By their fruits ye shall know them." 
How are we to know men thus, as to their qualification 
to become permanent members of the Church, unless 
time and opportunity be first given them to bring 
forth fruits ? If we admit them, at once, to the full 
fellowship of the Church, upon naked professions of 
qualification, the fruit cannot be had, to guide the 
judgment of the Church in this important step ; and 
when that fruit afterwards is seen, it may prove to be 
fruit of bitterness. But, then, the Church is already 
injured by the too hasty admission. And if we hold 
them entirely aloof from Church privileges, until 
satisfactory fruits of righteousness be borne, we may, 
in this way, discourage the heart of the humble and 
contrite ones, and drive from the fold the real lambs 
of Christ's flock. The proper medium seems, therefore, 
7 



n 



PRO B ATION A R Y RELATION. 



to lie between these two modes of proceeding; and 
this ground we regard ourselves as occupying, when 
we admit the penitent to a state of trial, or candidacy 
for Church membership, and to the nursing care of the 
Church, and the strengthening means of grace ; but 
admit him not to full fellowship, until, on proper trial, 
he is found to produce good fruits. And, indeed, it 
is difficult to conceive of a different course, without 
continual danger of bringing dishonor on the Church, 
by countenancing the presumptuous or hypocritical on 
the one hand, or of discouraging and promoting 
despondency, in the truly humble and sincere, on the 
other. 

Third. The analogy of Scripture usage, gives 
countenance to this practice. Among the Jews, when 
persons came to them from pagan nations, while they 
believed in the true God, and kept the moral law, but, 
before they received the rites — or sacraments, if it be 
preferred — and submitted to the ceremonial law, they 
were called proselytes of the gate; but, after receiving 
these, they were called proselytes of the covenant. 
Some writers, however, assert — and among them 
Dr. Tomline, Dr. Lardner, and Dr. Jennings- — that 
there was but one class of proselytes, properly ; and 
that they retained that name only while they were 
undergoing a trial, or preparation, for full admission 
into the rights and privileges of the Jewish Church. 
But all agree in this : that, " when the proselyte was 
well proved, and instructed, they gave him circum- 
cision ; and when his wound was healed, they gave him 
baptism;" and then he was permitted to eat of the 
passover, and join in the sacrifices and services of the 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



75 



Lord's house. He did not enter upon his probation, 
until he had professed a desire to abandon his idolatry 
and wickedness, and be received among the faithful. 
When well proved and instructed, he was fully 
recognized as of the spiritual Israel. The Hebrew 
Church was the Church of God ; the Christian is not 
another, but the same Church, under a better dispen- 
sation ; and all the general reasons which rendered 
a trial of proselytes a necessary prudential regulation 
in the first, would call for a like provision in the 
Christian Church. And, indeed, we find it enjoined 
by Apostolic authority, in the New Testament, with 
regard to officers of the Church. In 1 Timothy hi. 10, 
Paul requires, that candidates for the deaconship 
" be first proved, then let them use the office of a 
deacon, being found blameless" The propriety of 
this probation, with regard to the ministry, is generally 
acknowledged — perhaps universally — by the different 
Christian Churches; for we know not of any, who 
suddenly receive a new convert to the highest offices 
in the ministry ; but, on the contrary, the member is 
required to be fully proved, before he is put into the 
ministry ; he is then subjected to another trial, as a 
licentiate, or novice; and, when fully proved, advanced 
to the higher grades and full functions of the ministerial 
office. 

Why this circumspection in regard to the ministry, 
if it be not also necessary in the instance of member- 
ship ? 

Fourth. Such was clearly the usage of the primitive 
Christian Church. Kone were admitted, from the 
world, to the full confidence and privileges of the 



76 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



Church, without undergoing a service of probation, 
called catechumenship* The strongest professions did 
not exempt them from this state of trial; because 
Christ had required the Church to judge of such bj 
their fruits, and she could not adopt his rule of judg- 
ment, without giving time, in which to determine whether 
the fruits required were produced in their lives. 

Eusebius records the case of a devout female — 
Herais — a disciple of Origen, who heroically suffered 
martyrdom for the honor of Christ ; and yet she 
was a catechumen — a probationer- — not having been 
admitted to the full fellowship of the Church. But, 
as Origen himself expresses it, she took her baptism by 
fire, and ascended to heaven. Ecc. His., p. 223. 

A number, besides, are mentioned, who held the 
same relation, but went cheerfully to the stake. 

With regard to this matter, Lord King says, 
" None, in those days, were hastily advanced to the 
higher forms of Christianity, but, according to their 
knowledge and merit, gradually arrived thereunto." 
Prim. Ch., p. 100. 

A reason assigned by Origen, for such a trial, is 
this: "We do our utmost, that our assemblies be 
composed of good and wise men." Origen against 
Celsus, book iii. p. 143. 

Lord King says, " Now, those who desired to be 
members of a Christian Church, were not presently 
advanced to that degree, but were first continued, 
a certain space of time, in the rank of catechumens, 



* Gregory calls them " probationers," as well as " catechumens." 
Ch. His., p. 27. 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



T7 



or the catechised ones : these were candidates for 
Christianity, who were to stay some time in that 
order, for these two reasons: the one was, that they 
might be catechised, and instructed in the Christian 
Faith ; and the other was, 6 that they might give 
demonstration of the reality of their intentions, by 
the change of their lives and holiness of their conver- 
sations.' " Prim. Ch., p. 101. 

Nor are we to suppose, that this arrangement was 
merely intended to instruct converted pagans in the 
primary elements of Christianity, preparatory to their 
entrance into the Church ; for, before they could be 
received as catechumens, Origen says, " They were 
first privately instructed at home, till they understood 
the more intelligible principles of Christianity, and 
then they were admitted into the first rank of 
catechumens." 

Bishop Stillingfleet, treating of this subject, says, 
" One great cause of the great flourishing of religion, 
in the primitive times, was, certainly, the strictness 
used by them, in their admission of members into 
Church societies, which is fully described by Origen, 
against Celsus, who tells us, they did 'inquire into 
their lives and carriages, to discern their seriousness 
in the profession of Christianity, during their being 
catechumens,' who after tells us, they did require 
6 true repentance and reformation of life,' and then we 
admit them to a participation of our mysteries.'" 
Trenicum, p. 161. 

St. Ambrose says, " The catechumens were not 
forward in coming to baptism," that is, were not 
hastily admitted into full membership. 



78 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



Gregory, (in his Ecc. Hist., p. 55,) speaking of the 
duration of catechumenship, says, " The time which 
was appointed for penitence, was protracted, or 
extended, by the bishop, according to the marks of 
contrition which were distinguished in the penitent." 

The same principle obtained in the primitive Church, 
with regard to the ministry. Accordingly, Lord King 
says, " The Church, in those happy days, by such a 
long trial and experience, used all possible precaution 
and exactness, that none but fit and qualified men 
should be admitted into those sacred functions and 
orders." (Prim. Ch., p. 85.) 

We certainly have the example of the primitive 
Church, as authority for putting candidates for 
membership on a course of trial, before admitting to 
the full privileges of the Church. And, notwith- 
standing the condemnation of our Church, by others, 
on account of this regulation, we are compelled to 
regard it as according with the reason and propriety 
of the case, the usage of the Apostles, the practice 
of the primitive Christians, and a most valuable safe- 
guard of the purity of the Church. 

Fifth. And, indeed, we know of no religious 
society, in which the same principle does not exist, 
in some form, and to some extent. 

In what relation, for example, do baptized children 
stand in the various Presbyterian and Episcopal 
Churches, if they be not probationers, or catechumens ? 
To say they hold no relation to the Church, is to 
declare their baptism a nullity, or worse, a solemn 
farce ; and to say they are members of those Churches, 
in virtue of their baptism alone, is contradicted by 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



70 



their own Church actions ; for they do not admit them 
to the Eucharist, until they have passed through a 
certain course of instruction and trial, and have been 
formally admitted to the full fellowship of the Church. 
Consistency, therefore, demands, that they be regarded 
as probationers, or catechumens. 

But, though other Churches should differ from 
us in this matter, though they should ordain, that 
the judgment of the session, or the relating of an 
experience, shall furnish the evidence of qualifications 
in a candidate for membership, we prefer to have 
these, with the practical evidence of sincerity and 
fruit-bearing, developed more fully, by a course of 
searching probation ; and thus, with Mr. Wesley, 
"follow the Scriptures and the primitive Church." 

Early in the history of our denomination, this 
practice was adopted; experience taught us its value, 
and it is now part and parcel of our economy. The 
duration of a state of trial is not fixed in our Church, 
except its minimum period. At one time, it was a 
rule of the Church, that no one should be admitted 
to membership, without a probation of two months; 
at another time, it was fixed at three months; and, 
finally, in 1789, six months was settled on, as the 
shortest time of probation that should authorize the 
admittance of a candidate into the Church ; and that 
rule remains unchanged. We said, the duration of a 
candidate's trial, is not determined by the rule ; 
because, that only ordains, that he shall not be 
admitted in a shorter time ; that he shall not, at 
an earlier period, be eligible to membership ; but, if, 
at the end of that time, he shall not have given 



80 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



sufficient evidence of his fitness to be received, it 
does not follow, that his relation must then end ; 
but, unless he has given evidence of positive unfitness, 
he is continued on trial, and his case may, at any 
time afterward, be taken up and acted on ; when he 
gives satisfactory evidence of his fitness to be received, 
he is admitted into the Church ; or, if his conduct be 
bad, or if the case continues fruitless, he is discon- 
tinued. 

This may be a proper place to meet several 
questions connected with the subject, and very 
frequently propounded : — - 

First. What qualifications are required of those 
who wish to enter as probationers for member- 
ship? 

The general answer is, "A desire to flee from the 
wrath to come, and be saved from their sins." Such 
a desire is to be evidenced, not only by a declaration 
of it but chiefly by a deep concern manifested in the 
conduct and manner. But, as such a desire may 
be counterfeited by the designing, or may be very 
transient with the irresolute and unstable, we demand 
such farther evidence as can be afforded, in this 
incipient stage of experience. Hence, our rule on 
that point says: "Let none be admitted on trial, 
except they are ivell recommended by one you know, 
of until they have met twice or thrice in class." 
A minister, therefore, has no legal authority to admit 
a person "on trial/' unless that person be "well 
recommended" by one he knows, or has passed several 
examinations in class, affording an opportunity to form 
an estimate of his sincerity and earnestness. No 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



81 



doubt serious evils have resulted from the neglect, or 
violation, of this rule. Preachers have not only failed 
to demand the required vouchers for fitness, but, in 
their zeal, have even urged persons to commence a 
probation, who, had the rule been observed, could not 
have been received. We award due credit to such, 
for then* zeal ; but, in view of the general bad effects 
of such a course, would affectionately remind them, 
that their work is " not to mend our rules, but to keep 
them." The observance of this admonition of our 
Discipline, would, we are sure, prevent many wounds 
to the cause of God, and no little scandal to the 
Church. Such a latitude has been taken, in some 
instances, that the impression has been made, in places, 
that it is the right of any one who chooses, to join 
the Church on trial. The course of duty is plainly 
marked. When persons apply to be received on trial, 
the officiating minister should take then names ; and 
if the necessary recommendation be furnished, or if 
his personal knowledge of the applicant supply the 
place of it, or, in the absence of both, if the applicant 
give the necessary satisfaction, by several class 
examinations, then, but not till then, should his name, 
and the date of his admission, be entered on the list, 
or record, of probationers, which the preacher should 
always keep, separately, from the record of members ; 
but, if that evidence be not forthcoming, it is not the 
duty, nor is it the right, of the minister, to enter the 
name as a probationer. 

Second. What are the rights and privileges of 
probationers; and wherein do they differ from those 
of members? 



82 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



Some have gone so far as to assert, that probationers 
are members of the Church already; and deeply do 
we regret, that the line of distinction between them 
has become too dim, and, in some cases, well nigh 
obliterated. And, among the instances of this sort, 
may be mentioned the fact, that many preachers, in 
their annual returns, report all their probationers as 
members of the Church, when, in truth, they are but 
candidates for membership. This tends to confusion, 
and to the destruction of the ends contemplated by 
this excellent arrangement of our economy. Our 
British brethren have not departed from the old 
landmarks, in this particular; but report their members 
and probationers separately. 

This is another point, upon which, as there existed 
a strong disposition to depart from primitive usage, 
the General Conference, of 1848, called on Rev. Dr. 
Dixon for a statement of the practice of the parent 
body — the British Wesleyan Conference — and the 
following is his answer: " We do not report proba- 
tioners as members. They are kept on trial three 
months.* We have a schedule, in which we have a 
column for the names of persons on trial. They 
remain there for a quarter of a year; and when our 
numbers are taken, as, for instance, at our March 
quarter, we have, sometimes, from fifteen to twenty 
thousand reported on trial. When they are admitted 
on trial, they are reported ; but not in the public 
minutes, only on the quarterly schedule." 

* Their term of probation is but three months — what ours 
formerly Avas — and the difference in circumstances, may make a 
shorter term than ours entirely expedient. 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



83 



The distinction is very clearly marked in the 
Discipline ; the very law which fixed our present term 
of probation, is in these words, u ~No person shall be 
owned as a member of our Church, without six months' 
trial." And the law prescribing the manner in which 
probationers are to be admitted into full connection, 
says, " Let none be received into the Church" until 
the prescribed conditions are complied with ; one 
of which conditions is, having been " six months on 
trial." 

So scrupulously did the primitive Church preserve 
the distinction between members and probationers 
— catechumens — that it was matter of reproachful 
complaint with Tertullian, against the " heretics," 
that "they made no difference between the faithful 
(members) and the catechumens" And Lord King 
adds, " But the 'true Church distinguished, and 
permitted not the catechumens to enjoy the privileges 
of the faithful, till they had, in a sense, merited them ; 
which was,. when, through a considerable time of trial, 
they had evidenced the sincerity of their hearts, by 
the sanctity and purity of their lives." (Prim. Ch., 
p. 101.) It has been urged, and may be admitted, 
that, in receiving converts from idolatrous religions, 
more time and care were properly devoted to the 
instruction of catechumens, than is necessary in 
admitting to Church membership, persons who have 
been educated in the principles of Christianity ; yet, , 
this would not obviate the necessity of a probation, 
(answering, in general, to catechumenship,) nor destroy 
the distinction between probationers and members ; 
for, we see, on the authority of Origen, Tertullian, 



84 



PROB ATIOXAEY RELATION. 



Stillingfleet, Lord King, and a host beside, that the 
chief object was, to prove then- sincerity, and give 
time for the producing of fruits of righteousness. This 
branch of the necessity is now quite as strong as then ; 
for, persons, abandoning a false religion, are, generally, 
even more ready to submit their whole hearts to the 
requirements of the true, than those who have been 
reared under its teachings. Yet, the fact, that the 
other branch of the original necessity for the relation, 
is greatly weakened, might very reasonably suggest 
the propriety of diminishing, proportionally, the distinc- 
tion in privilege, between probationers and actual 
members of the Church. And, accordingly, our 
Church have done so — our probationers being allowed 
much larger privileges of the Church, than those in 
the primitive Church, under different circumstances. 
They, after having been first instructed at home, 
were admitted as catechumens of the class called 
" edocti" who were permitted " to come into the 
Church, where they stood in a place by themselves, 
and were present at the sermons which were adapted 
to their capacities." ( Origen.') "If they behaved 
well in this rank, then they were advanced to the 
' superior rank of the perfectly as Tertullian calls 
them ; who stayed, not only at the lessons and sermons, 
but also at the prayers, which were the conclusion 
of the first service." (Prim. Ch., p. 100.) 

The privileges of our probationers are of a higher 
order ; they are placed under the same pastoral care 
with the members of the Church, and enjoy, with 
them, the right of attending all our religious meetings ; 
they are enrolled as probationers, and are placed as 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



85 



members of classes, the privilege of which, as also 
of love feasts, they freely enjoy. It is true, that 
they are not, according to rule, entitled to what is 
technically called a love-feast " ticket;" for such a 
ticket is the right only of a member, and is an 
evidence of membership ; but they are entitled to 
"notes" which serve the like purpose. ("Give 
tickets to none," till they have completed their 
probation; " give notes to none," unless recommended 
as prescribed for persons in becoming probationers.) 
Thus do they enjoy the nursing care of the Church, 
and are aided in all that is calculated to make them 
fruitful in works of righteousness. 

On the other hand, in matters calling for the votes, 
or other official action of the Church members proper, 
they have no right to participate. And, in case 
of behaving in an immoral or disorderly maimer, they 
are not entitled to the forms of a regular Church 
trial ; but their relation, or trial, is simply discon- 
tinued, and their names erased from the list of 
probationers. But it is inquired, doubtingly, " Is 
such truly the spirit and design of our rule ? If so, 
is it not mijust, or oppressive, in its operation?" 
Such a doubt must imply an opinion, that persons 
on trial are actually Church members, which is not 
the case. And if you try, and convict, such an one, 
you cannot excommunicate him from the Church, 
because he is not in it. 

Now, there is another point of difference between 
members and probationers, which tends to explain and 
vindicate the one under notice. Obligations must be 
reciprocal, between the Church and its members, to 



86 



PR 0 B ATI OX ART R EL ATI 0 N . 



be just. A government owes no obligations to the 
man who acknowledges none to the government. 
The Church-member, in becoming such, took upon 
himself grave and important obligations ; and, in 
accepting him, the Church assumed answerable obliga- 
tions to him. Thus, in order to obtain membership, 
he was required: 1st. To undergo a period of trial 
and instruction. 2nd. To conduct himself in such a 
maimer, as to secure the recommendation of the leader, 
under whose special care he had been for at least six 
months. 3rd. To have gained the confidence of the 
administrative authority of the Church where he 
resided. 4th. To profess, before the Society, his 
belief in the doctrines of the Church. 5th. To declare 
his willingness to observe the rules of the Church; 
and, (if he were an unbaptized adult,) 6th. To take 
upon him baptismal vows, and receive that sacrament. 
After passing this ordeal, the Church publicly acknow- 
ledged him as a member, and came under all the 
obligations to him, that legitimately grow out of that 
relation. One of these is, that he shall not be 
excluded from the Church, without a fair trial, by 
the society of which he is a member, or a select 
portion of them, and an appeal. And this is a 
constitutional guaranty to him, in virtue of his having 
submitted to all the prerequisites and obligations 
of membership. Very different from this, is the 
position of the probationer : he is not required, in 
that relation, to subscribe our articles of faith, approve 
our rules of discipline, nor to submit to any of those 
distinctive obligations of membership. Shall he, then, 
who has come under no obligation? to the Church, 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



other than the constructive one, not to dishonor her, 
by behaving unworthily during his candidacy, or trial 
— shall he be placed on common ground with the man 
who has entered into solemn covenant bonds to the 
Church ? This were inequitable. 

How, then, is he to be dismissed from his relation 
to the Church ?" If he walk disorderly, he is passed 
out by the door at which he came in. The pastor, 
upon the evidence and recommendation required in 
the Discipline, entered his name, as a candidate, or 
probationer, for membership, and placed him in a class 
for religious training and improvement : now, if his 
conduct be contrary to the gospel, or, in the language 
of our rule, if he " walk disorderly, and will not be 
reproved," it is the duty of the pastor who received 
him, to discontinue him ; to erase his name from the 
class book and probationers' list. This is not to be 
done rashly, or on suspicion, or slight evidence of 
misconduct. It is made the duty of Ms leader, to 
report weekly to the pastor, " any that walk disorderly, 
and will not be reproved." This implies, that the 
leader, on discovering an impropriety in his conduct, 
first conversed privately with him, and, on finding 
that he had done wrong, attempted to administer 
suitable reproof, that he might be recovered. Had 
he received reproof, this had been the end of the 
matter; but, he "would not be reproved" — would 
not submit to reproof — and the leader, therefore, 
reports the case to the pastor. But, it is evidently 
the design, that, after this first failure, on the part 
of the leader, farther efforts should be made by the 
pastor ; for, the rule, after providing that such conduct 



88 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



shall be made known to the pastor, adds, " We will 
admonish him of the error of his ways. We will bear 
with him for a season. But, then, if he repent not, 
he hath no more place among us." The pastor, on 
consultation with the leader, (and others, when 
convenient,) in country societies, or, with the leader's 
meeting, where there is one, determines on the proper 
course, and carries the determination into effect. 
Here is a just correspondence between rights and 
duties. 

Our rule and practice, as it regards preachers, 
shed light on this subject. The Discipline, of 1784, 
says : " Observe : taking on " trial," is entirely 
different from admitting a preacher. One on trial 
may be either admitted or rejected, without doing 
him any wrong ; otherwise, it would be no trial at 
all." And that explanatory remark, or note, still 
remains in force. A preacher, on probation for 
admission into the itinerant connection, has no right 
to vote in Conference, or to perform any act pertaining 
to members of Conference, as such. Nor has he 
right to a regular trial, by the Conference, as members 
have ; but, if found unsuitable during his probation, 
or, at the end of it, he is simply discontinued, by the 
body by which he was admitted on trial. And, in 
case of immoral or unchristian conduct, the Conference 
dissolves his relation to that body, as a probationer, 
and he drops into the hands of an inferior judicatory, 
(a quarterly Conference) to be tried on the accusa- 
tions, implicating his moral or Christian character. 

The reason and consistency of the case, requires, 
that there should be a correspondence between the 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



89 



rights of probationership for the ministry, and for 
membership. 

Third. What qualifications should probationers 
possess, in order to be entitled to full membership 
in the Church ? 

Some have supposed, that the terms of membership 
we have before stated, are applicable to probationers, 
but not to members. A general answer to this 
position, is found in the fact, that persons on trial 
are no where spoken of as members of the Church ; 
and, therefore, facts or arguments concerning terms 
of membership, cannot apply to probationers, distinc- 
tively. 

If, however, we examine this question in the light 
of primitive usage, we shall find the matter stated, 
with satisfactory plainness, with regard to catechumens. 
An object in holding them in that state, Origen says, 
was, " to discern their seriousness in the profession 
of Christianity," (and, of course, they were kept in 
that state, until the object was attained ;) that they 
required of them " true repentance, and reformation 
of life;" and when the evidence of these was 
satisfactorily given, by their walk, " then we admit 
them to a participation in our mysteries." Justin 
Martyr expresses it thus: "A profession of faith in 
the truths of the gospel, and answerable life to the 
gospel." According to Tertullian, as quoted before, 
they were to remain in that state, until they " gave 
demonstration of the reality of their intentions, by the 
change of their lives, and holiness of their conver- 
sation." And so, again, Origen : " We initiate them 
into our mysteries, when they have made a proficiency 
8. 



90 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



in holiness, and, according to the utmost of their 
power, have reformed their conversations." Lord 
King says, they were continued in that state, " until 
they had evidenced the sincerity of their hearts, 
by the sanctity and purity of their lives." These 
statements appear quite explicit, and to be in 
accordance with our General Rules. 

Considering the subject, as set forth in our rules 
and usages, we remark, that the general object of 
a state of trial, is, to afford time and opportunity to 
probationers, to evidence the sincerity and fixedness 
of their " desire to flee from the wrath to come, 
and be saved from their sins," by bearing fruit, as 
described in our General Rules : ci by doing no 
harm," " by doing good," and by " attending on all 
the ordinances of God." If these fruits appear, and 
are borne consistently, we are bound to consider 
them as fit subjects for the fellowship of the Church ; 
for, by their fruits — not their professions chiefly — ye 
shall know them. But, that they may bear fruits 
unto holiness, besides the general means of grace, 
they are placed, during their probation, in classes, 
with experienced Christians, and under the special 
care of a pious leader, whose duty it is to meet 
them weekly, instruct them in the things of God, 
"inquire how their souls prosper," &c. For six 
months, they are required to undergo this searching 
examination into their walk, spiritual condition, and 
growth in grace. At the end of that time, if the 
leader, who has had so fair an opportunity of knowing 
their conduct and spirit, believe them sincere and 
faithful, and can testify to their consistent Christian 



PROBATIONARY RELATION. 



91 



conduct, they may be admitted to a public examina- 
tion, as stated before, in the presence of the Church. 
If, in this, they give satisfaction, and (if it have not 
been previously done) take upon them the vows, 
and receive the sacrament of baptism ; then, they 
are publicly acknowledged as members of the Church, 
enrolled accordingly, and entitled to all the rights 
cf that relation. 



CHAPTER VI. 
CLASS MEETINGS. 



The Church, has a right to adopt prudential regulations for 
edification — What a Class is — Examples from Scripture — Pro- 
priety of such meetings found in man's moral constitution — 
Power of sympathy — Influence of experience — example — Class 
Meetings Promotive of Christian fellowship — Nurseries for the 
ministry — Promotes self-examination — Permanency and prosperity 
of the Church, involved in the maintenance of Class Meetings. 

In matters pertaining to the edification and 
prosperity of the Church, wherein God has not 
revealed either command or prohibition, the Church 
is at liberty to be guided by her judgment and 
experience, of what is expedient and profitable. This 
proposition is laid down, and defended, at length, 
by Bishop Stillingfleet, in his " Irenicum," and is 
sustained by the practice of all the Churches ; for, 
all employ means of religious improvement, or 
modes of operation, not prescribed in the Word of 
Revelation. 

Upon this ground, we have an unquestionable 
right to institute, and maintain in use, among us, 
that means of religious edification, to which is given 
the name of Class Meeting. Mr. Wesley styles it, 
a " little prudential regulation," and says, " It can 
scarcely be conceived, what advantages have been 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



03 



reaped from it." But, we have more direct authority 
from the Word of God, for this regulation, than can 
be claimed for many others, received by the different 
Churches, as right and necessary. It is true, we 
have not the name in holy Scripture ; but, neither 
have we the names "Session," "Synod," "Associa- 
tion," " Convention," " Assembly," and others, which 
different branches of the Church have thought it 
expedient to adopt ; yet, we have, as we think, 
authority for the tiling signified by the name, as we 
employ it. 

A Class, is a select company of persons, united 
together, for the purpose of mutual religious improve- 
ment ; frequently meeting together to promote that 
object, by singing, prayer, relating their religious 
experience, exhortation, and such like exercises. 
From the first institution of a Church on earth, the 
pious have been accustomed to meet, at stated 
periods, for public religious improvement and instruc- 
tion; and, it has doubtless been their custom, during 
all that period, to meet in more select and private 
assemblies, comprehending, only, those supposed to 
be actuated by a common object, for the enjoyment 
of greater freedom of religious conference and com- 
munion. 

Malachi, in speaking of a period of general apostacy, 
and of the conduct of the faithful, at such a time, 
says, "Then they that feared the Lord, spake often 
one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it." 
Here was a collection, of those, only, that " feared 
the Lord ;" and, in the manner of a Class Meeting, 
they " spake often, one to another," for their mutual 



94 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



edification and establishment. And the Most High 
approved the exercise ; for, " the Lord hearkened 
and heard it." And, though it is not mentioned, 
that any " class-book " was kept by them, yet, God 
kept the record; "A book of remembrance was 
written before Him, for them that feared the Lord, 
and that thought on his name." Malachi iii. 16. 

"We do not claim, that this was a Methodist Class 
Meeting, but we have, here, the object and the 
exercises of such a meeting well delineated, and 
encouraged, as strongly as could be desired ; for God 
himself keeps a record for them — hea,rs their pious 
conversations, marks their devout meditations, and 
writes their names in his book — as ancient kings 
were accustomed to record the names of such as had 
rendered services to the State, justly entitling them 
to a reward. " And they shall be mine, saith the 
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my 
jewels ; and I will spare them, as a man spare th his 
own son that serveth him." Malachi iii. 17. 

When Christ was about to send out the twelve 
Apostles, to preach, he called them to him, and gave 
them a lesson of private instruction and encourage- 
ment, in which the multitude had no participation ; 
and when this was done, he went on, again, with his 
work of public teaching and preaching. Matthew x. 

And, so, after he had delivered a public discourse 
to the multitude, he entered into a free private 
conversation with his disciples, on the same subject. 
Matthew xiii. 

Even his character, as the true Messiah, he left the 
multitude to gather from his works, and commanded 



CLASS MEETINGS 



05 



his disciples to keep it with themselves. To them, 
only, did he converse, explicitly, about his sufferings 
and death. No stranger appears to have been 
admitted to the confidential circle, when they cele- 
brated the Passover, when Christ instituted the holy 
Eucharist; and only a select band of his disciples, 
was permitted to witness his glorious transfiguration 
on the mount, and his terrible agony in the garden. 

When the two disciples returned to Jerusalem, from 
Emmaus, after their interview with the risen Christ, 
they "found the eleven gathered together, and they 
that were with them." A private, select meeting, 
of the friends of Jesus, only, conversing of the 
wonderful things which had just transpired ; and, in 
the private meeting, Jesus himself made his appearance, 
and communed with them. Luke xxiv. 33, &c. And, 
in the meetings for " prayer and supplication," held 
in an upper room at Jerusalem, while waiting for the 
gift of the Holy Ghost, none appear to have been 
present but the eleven, the pious women, and other 
disciples. It was the usage of the primitive Church, 
to hold private meetings, whenever they deemed it 
more for the edification of the Church and the glory 
of God. Even the sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
was administered in the presence of the members of 
the Church, only, in the early periods of Christianity. 

Indeed, such a right is necessarily inherent in the 
nature of a Church, and, in fact, of all associated 
organizations ; and, to dispute it, seems to savor of 
ignorance, or of a worse quality. State councils, 
military leaders, business corporations, family circles, 
all have their confidential meetings, and wisdom and 



96 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



prudence approve ; what reason, then, exists, for 
forbidding to the Church, a right, not questioned in 
relation to any other department ? 

But, the propriety and necessity of such meetings, 
are found in the elements of our moral constitution. 
Sympathy is a strongly developed attribute of our 
nature ; and, at the same time, an important ingredient 
in the Christian religion. It tends, mightily, to 
augment our pleasures, and to alleviate our sorrows ; 
but, it can have a free flow only in intercourse with 
select, confidential friends. How many hundreds of 
strangers the two disciples met, between Emmaus 
and Jerusalem, on their hasty return, after Jesus 
had been "made known to them in breaking of 
bread," we know not ; but, it is not probable, that 
they mentioned anything of their joyful tidings, to 
any one of that stranger multitude ; because, those 
strangers — perhaps enemies — did not sympathize in 
their joy ; but, they hastened to where the other 
disciples were, that they might impart joy to the 
others, and that sympathy might heighten their 
mutual joy. 

The Psalmist desired only those who feared God, 
to attend, when he joyfully related what the Lord 
had done for his soul ; because, none others could 
sympathize in his enjoyment ; and he wished to tell 
it, where the relation would add enjoyment to kindred 
hearts, and the reflex influence of pious sympathy 
would increase his own joy. 

But, sympathy is even more needful in suffering 
and sorrow, than in joy; and one prominent design 
of class-meeting, is, to promote the relief of the 



distressed by that means. Suppose the case of an 
unassured penitent ; how soothing to his heart, to 
meet with a few sympathizing friends, whose feelings 
vibrate to the touches of anguish in his own. In the 
class-room he finds such friends ; for each member 
there, is either in a like condition with himself, or 
has passed through that state ; and, in either case, 
is well prepared to sympathize with him. And 
there such sympathy has its free flow, and prac- 
tical operation. Realizing that he is surrounded by 
friends, only, his feelings are relieved of restraint and 
embarrassment, in declaring his fears and hopes ; and 
his brethren thus obtain an accurate knowledge of 
his true condition and spiritual wants, and are, 
therefore, prepared to present his case, in humble 
supplication, to the throne of the heavenly grace. 
And, besides, this knowledge of his true state, enables 
the leader to administer such counsel, instruction, and 
encouragement, as the case demands. Without this 
accurate knowledge of one's spiritual state, which can 
only be obtained by free personal converse, it is 
impossible to give counsel suited to the peculiarities 
of each case. And many a time it has happened, 
that a single appropriate promise, applied directly 
to the case, has been more efficacious in imparting 
comfort, than many excellent public discourses. 

Furthermore, there is, in the class-room, another 
kind of teaching, of inestimable value- — teaching by 
experience. Whatever may be your state, or your 
trials, you will most probably hear, at the very first 
Class Meeting you attend, some one relate, how he 
passed through the very valley in which you now 
9 



98 



CLASS MEETINGS 



are, and how he obtained deliverance. This affords 
strong encouragement, and may be the instrument 
of immediate relief. It has often happened, that, 
while one has related his experience of darkness and 
sorrow, and how he was, at last, enabled to lay hold 
on a particular promise of the gospel, and to rejoice 
in hope of the glory of God, the listening penitent 
has, like a blind man, followed, as it were, the soimd 
of his footsteps, until the fight of the same precious 
promise broke on his darkness, and he, too, was 
enabled to seize the joy of assurance, while the other 
described the manner of its attainment. The relating 
of religious experience, has ever been a most effective 
instrumentality of good, to sincere and humble hearers. 
Paul was accustomed to relate his own experience 
and conversion, in his public discourses, with powerful 
effect : but, it is not for every private Christian to 
use that means, in the like public manner, with 
the same effect ; yet, the humblest may employ it, 
advantageously, in a select circle of sympathizing 
friends. 

A striking instance of the power of personal 
experience, simply related, was presented in the 
temperance reformation, that swept over this country, 
so wonderfully, a few years ago. What the polish 
and power of cultivated eloquence failed to accomplish, 
was achieved, by a homely narration of the experience 
of reformed inebriates. The reason is obvious : those 
eloquent addresses were persuasive and argumentative 
enough, but the speakers and hearers were not in 
sympathetic communication with each other ; the 
orators had no experience in the matters of which 



CLASS MEETINGS, 



99 



they treated, and no sympathy of experience with the 
intemperate ; but, when men rose from the mire and 
the gutter, and told the unadorned tale of their own 
experience of crime, misery, and reformation, each 
drunkard heard his own history, and saw his own 
portrait, in the delineation, and felt himself in sympa- 
thetic correspondence with the speaker. The appeal 
was to the experience, the feelings, the heart ; and 
the effects were most astonishing. 

We have often remarked the operation of the same 
principle, in other departments. A man who has 
never doubted the truth of the Christian Scriptures, 
may address a company of infidels, in arguments the 
most cogent and convincing, without success ; but, let 
one of those infidels become soundly converted to 
Christianity, and a simple narrative of his experience, 
and the manner in which he was converted, will, 
probably, be effectual, to an extent much greater 
than any strength of reasoning could be. 

But, if the timid and self-distrustful are called 
to this exercise, in the presence of a promiscuous 
assembly of friends and foes, their freedom of speech, 
and feeling, must be greatly restrained ; and little 
profit could be expected to themselves, or to others. 
On this point, Bishops Coke and Asbury, in their 
notes on the Discipline, remark : " This would be, 
to throw a damp on these profitable assemblies, and 
cramp, if not entirely destroy, that liberty of speech, 
which is always made a peculiar blessing to earnest 
believers, and sincere seekers of salvation." 

Class-meeting, properly attended and improved, 
is a most valuable means for promoting Christian 



100 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



fellowship. In the public congregation, all, saint 
and sinner, meet on common ground; but, not in 
any relation of Christian intimacy, calculated to 
quicken personal fellowship. But, when you enter 
a class-room, wiih ten or fifteen Christian friends, 
there is, or should be. the freedom, confidence, and 
fellowship, of a cordial family group. The members 
become intimately acquainted with each other, per- 
sonally and religiously, and come, naturally, to feel 
a deep interest in each other's welfare. And the 
ardent friendships there formed, have, in numerous 
instances, been so strong, that even the cold waters 
of death could not quench them. How often has 
the last message of the expiring Christian been, " Tell 
my class mates to meet me in heaven." And the 
good may well approve an institution; whose tendency 
is, to wake up joyful recollections, and delightful 
hopes, in the closing scene of mortal existence. 

Bishops Coke and Asbury, in then notes on this 
subject, say : " The most profitable exercise of any, 
is, a free inquiry into the state of the heart. 
"We, therefore, confine these meetings to Clirisiio.n 
experience, only enjoining singing and prayer in the 
introduction and conclusion. And we praise the 
Lord, they have been made a blessing to scores of 
thousands. In short, we can truly say, that, through, 
the grace of Grod, our classes form the pillars of 
our work, and are, in a considerable degree, our 
universities for the ministry." 

A grand excellency, then, of the Class system, is, 
that it serves as an efficient auxiliary to the ministry : 
first, as a nursery of preachers, as suggested in the 



CLASS MEETINGS 



101 



Bishops' notes above. The practical working of the 
system, is very simple and natural. A pious young 
man is placed in charge of a Class, which he is 
expected to meet, and instruct, every week. Here 
he has a field, sufficiently important and responsible, 
to call forth his energies, and stimulate hi m to active 
exertion, to qualify himself for the useful performance 
of that work ; but not so weighty as utterly to 
overwhelm, and cause him to sink beneath it. Here, 
he necessarily cultivates an intimate acquaintance 
with the Word of God, with the elements and workings 
of the human heart, with the operations of grace in 
the soul, and with the practical details of pastoral 
duty, in visiting, warning, instructing, and comforting, 
those under his care. And the direct tendency 
of this sort of exercise, is, to beget within him a 
deep and abiding concern for the salvation of souls. 
Thus, in mind, in heart, in practice, the faithful 
and intelligent leader is continually acquiring qualifi- 
cations of the most valuable character, for the work 
of the ministry. And, from this fruitful nursery, 
many have been thrust out into the larger vineyard 
of the Lord. 

And, truly, the Class has been a " school of the 
prophets," to our Church. Upon this nursery she 
has drawn for ministerial supplies, in time of need ; 
and her draughts have been honored, by the sending 
forth of thousands of able ministers of the New 
Testament; "such as need not be ashamed; rightly 
dividing the Word of Truth." We value human 
learning, and are ever gratified to see young ministers 
enter the field, with all the panoply the schools can 



102 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



supply ; yet, this knowledge alone, puffeth up ; but 
the teachings of the heart, in the class-room, tend 
to humility, and are edifying. It is very desirable, 
that the young evangelist should have both ; but, 
if either must be neglected, we would say, let it be 
the classic, rather than the Class. 

The other aspect in which we would consider the 
Class system, as auxiliary to the ministry, is as an 
important appendage to the itinerant economy of our 
Church. We can conceive of no other plan, but that 
of itinerancy, by which the gospel can be preached 
to the poor every where. But, by this plan, the 
same minister has to take charge of many congre- 
gations, and these separated from each other by the 
distance of many miles ; consequently, he can spend 
but little time with each congregation, and can attend 
to but few, comparatively, of the details of pastoral 
work. To supply this lack of service, the members 
are divided into Classes, and committed to the 
immediate care of a leader, whose duty it is, to 
meet, visit, admonish, and attend to them, and report 
their condition — their wanderings, their afflictions, and 
prosperity — to the pastor. And so excellently does 
this arrangement work, that, wherever we have 
competent and faithful leaders, we have never known 
the societies to suffer, materially, from lack of pastoral 
attention, on the part of the minister. With this 
system in efficient operation, our itinerant plan works 
admirably ; but, wherever this branch of our work 
is neglected, the itinerant wheels are clogged. And, 
whenever we give up this part of our economy, either 
by an open abandonment of it, or by neglect calculated 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



103 



to render it inefficient, and little more than nominal, 
itinerancy must soon follow in the same track ; and 
" Ichabod " will be inscribed, in mournful characters, 
on our banner, where used to glow, in lines of light, 
the sacred motto of our glorying, " The poor have 
the gospel preached unto them." Firmly believing 
this truth, as we do, and seeing, as we are compelled 
to see, in various quarters, an increasing disposition 
to neglect and undervalue Class Meetings, we could 
covet the ability, to sound out such a warning as 
should startle negligent ministers and leaders, and 
alarm the sluggish and lukewarm membership into 
becoming diligence and zeaL 

Again: self-examination is a great Christian duty, 
upon the right performance of which, the life of 
godliness, in the soul, in a great measure, depends. 
So long as we find one, regular and faithful in the 
performance of this duty, we are sure to find him 
faithful in the discharge of other duties, and lively 
in religion; and, in proportion as one neglects this 
essential duty, he becomes neglectful of other duties, 
and cold, lukewarm, or, at best, fitful and uneven, 
in his religious enjoyments. It is the instrument by 
which the Christian mariner calculates his latitude, 
and ascertains his true position. But, we know of 
no other means so effectual, in keeping alive a spirit 
of searching self-examination, as a regular attendance 
on Class Meetings. Those meetings, as remarked 
before, are, specially, experience meetings ; in which 
it is the duty of each member, to state, as truly as 
possible, his present religious condition. This cannot 
be done, conscientiously, and with profit, without 



104 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



severe examination of our own hearts and conduct. 
The fact, that we are expected to make such state- 
ments, weekly, not only has the effect, to keep us on 
our guard, during the week, but, requires, that we 
carefully examine ourselves, preparatory to the duty 
of the class-room. Without such regular and faithful 
examination, we are like one running an account, 
without noticing the state of his indebtedness, until 
he becomes hopelessly involved. And, in point of 
fact, it is almost universally true, that, while Christians 
are faithfully striving to grow in grace, and desirous 
to know, and improve, their real spiritual state, they 
are delighted with the scrutinizing exercises of the 
Class ; but, when they become negligent of duty, 
and indisposed to meet their own hearts, in close 
self-examination, they have no relish for the services 
of the Class ; the effect of which, is, to probe wounds 
they would rather conceal, than cure, by a searching 
process. Hence it is, that the Class Meeting has 
been aptly styled, a religious thermometer, indi- 
cating the temperature of the moral feelings and 
affections. 

At this very point, the contest is now going on, 
and will continue, until a decision shall be firmly 
established, one way or the other, upon which, in 
our opinion, the future character and destiny of 
Methodism will depend, if not its very existence. 
Many worldly-minded members, even now, feel the 
Class too searching an ordeal, to suit the frigid 
temper of their piety, and seek excuses for neglecting 
it, or object to it altogether. It is mournful, to 
witness the prevailing neglect of this excellent means. 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



105 



Mark how places of fashionable amusement are 
thronged, by members of the Church, to the scandal 
of religion ; but, of all those wanderers from the path 
of duty, not one will be found to be a regular and 
faithful attendant on class-room duties ; at least, we 
have never met with such a case. They will not, 
they cannot, love both ; "Ye cannot serve God and 
mammon." If it is desired, to destroy the vital 
energies of Methodism, let us have a ministry, too 
dignified and important to attend to the meeting of 
Classes, and having them met by leaders ; let us have 
leaders, who seldom meet their Classes, and never, 
in a proper spirit, or with proper zeal and interest ; 
let us have members, too fashionable, too wealthy, 
and too, lifeless, to love the class-room; and, then, 
though we should astonish the multitude, by our 
learned and eloquent sermons, we shall find vital 
godliness decaying, under our refined nursing, the 
" pillars of itinerancy" giving way, and breaches in 
the walls of Zion, large enough to admit worldly- 
minded, gay, pleasure-loving members. And, so 
soon as these predominate, " farewell to Methodist 
discipline, if not doctrine, too," and to that life and 
spiritual power, upon which, chiefly, our success has 
depended. We may philosophize as learnedly as we 
please, about causes of decline ; but, until we come 
back to the close, scrutinizing, exercises of the Class, 
our speculations will be profitless. These facts are 
well understood by our keen-sighted adversaries ; 
they know, that our Class Meetings have exerted a 
powerfully quickening influence on our membership, 
and they are concentrating all their force at this 



106 



CLASS MEETINGS, 



point, and are laboring, with great zeal, to render this 
valuable means of religious improvement odious. 

Is this, then, a time, to neglect our cherished 
institution ? Surrender Class Meetings, and itinerancy 
can no longer be sustained in its efficiency ; surrender 
itinerancy, and Methodism is extinct, so far as regards 
its grand original design, the " spreading of Scripture 
holiness over these lands." 



CHAPTER VII. 

CLASS MEETINGS— CONTINUED 



Class Meetings originated providentially — Notice of their rise — - 
Bishops' Notes concerning — Duties of pastors, respecting Class 
Meetings, laid down in six particulars — Duties of the leader — 
Duty of members. 

Class Meetings, like most of the peculiarities of 
Methodism, was not a thing of preconcerted arrange- 
ment, but a result of providential circumstances. 
Sincere seekers of salvation, came to Mr. Wesley 
for advice and assistance. He conversed and prayed 
with them ; but soon they became so numerous, that 
it required too much of his time to attend to them, 
singly, and he appointed an hour, each week, at 
which he would meet, and give counsel, to all. But, 
ere long, they grew to such a number, that he could 
not, himself, even in that way, attend to all; and, 
then, after the example of Moses, in like circumstances, 
he divided them into small companies, of about twelve, 
called Classes, and appointed a judicious and pious 
leader to take charge of each Class. It was then 
expected, that the leader would personally visit each 
member of his Class, once a week, for purposes of 
religious edification ; but, this was found too burden- 



108 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



some on the leader, in most cases, and was attended 
with other inconveniences ; and, to remedy these 
evils, a weekly meeting, of all the members of the 
Class, was appointed, at which the leader inquired 
into their state, administered advice, and conducted 
other religious exercises. On this subject, the Bishops' 
Notes say : "At the beginning of Methodism, the 
leader called weekly on each of his Class ; in which 
case, twelve were quite sufficient for his inspection. 
But, very soon it was found abundantly preferable, 
for the whole Class to meet the leader, together ; not 
only for the sake of the leader, but for the good of 
the people, who, by that means, enjoy the unspeakable 
advantages of Christian fellowship." 

On the subject of enlarging the Classes, the Notes 
say : " We have found it necessary, in innumerable 
instances, to enlarge the number of the Class, 
from the impossibility of providing a sufficiency of 
class-leaders, if the number were always limited to 
twelve." 

It has been said, that the rule limiting Classes to 
twelve members, should be either observed or repealed ; 
but, it is not, and never was, an imperative rule ; it 
is merely stated as a historical fact, that such was 
the common number at the commencement of the 
experiment. The Bishops' Notes, however, written 
more than fifty years ago, inform us, that, before 
that time, it had become necessary, in innumerable 
instances, to enlarge the Classes. But, we have no 
right to change a statement of fact, with regard to 
the original size of Classes, no more than to change 
any other recorded fact in our history. 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



109 



DUTIES OP PREACHERS, LEADERS, AND MEMBERS, WITH 
REGARD TO CLASS MEETINGS. 

These we shall briefly notice. 
First. It is the official duty of the preacher m 
charge of a station or circuit:— 

1. To appoint the class-leaders. The preacher is 
responsible for the proper management of the societies 
under his care ; and it has, therefore, been deemed 
advisable, to devolve on him the duty of selecting 
the leaders, who are the active agents in managing 
the concerns of the societies. 

It is, however, a very common usage among 
ministers — either formally or informally — to consult 
the preferences of the Class, in selecting a leader. 
And this is not contrary to the law, nor to the 
usage, in other departments. In some instances, 
the appointment of certain officers is vested in the 
executive of the State ; but, he has chosen to throw 
a portion of this responsibility on the people, who 
are called to express their choice by vote ; and the 
executive simply ratifies their choice, unless there 
appear to him substantial reasons for disagreeing 
with them. But, cases may occur, in which a Class 
may become divided into parties ; and, without the 
interference of a disinterested party, a leader would 
be selected, unacceptable to a large majority ; but, by 
judiciously selecting one, most free from party bias, 
conflicting elements may be happily harmonized. 

2. It is the duty of the preacher, to change 
improper or unfaithful leaders. This is, generally, a 



no 



CLASS MEETINGS 



very delicate and unpleasant item of duty ; especially, 
in the instances wherein members have become neglect- 
ful of duty, and prefer a leader who will not urge 
them to faithfulness, or report their delinquencies. 
And it seems necessary, to vest, some where, the duty 
and power of correcting such evils ; and the pastor 
would seem to be the most appropriate depository 
of such power and responsibility. 

On this point, the Notes say: "As he is the 
only person in the circuit, who is responsible to the 
yearly Conference, for the decline of the work of 
God in his circuit, and the only one Conference can 
maJce responsible, he has the authority invested in 
him, of changing leaders, when they have lost the 
life of God, or are incapacitated for, or negligent of, 
their duty. But, if he ever use this power, in a 
capricious or tyrannical manner, the people may lay 
their grievances before the bishops, who have authority 
to suspend him for ill conduct ; or, before the yearly 
Conference, which may proceed, even to his expulsion, 
if he grossly offend against that wisdom which is 
from above ; 6 which is first pure, then peaceable, 
gentle, and easy to be entreated ; full of mercy 
and good fruits, without partiality and without 
hypocrisy? " 

3. It is the duty of the preacher, carefully to 
examine each leader, diligently, at least once a 
quarter, concerning his method of meeting a Class ; 
and, of course, to instruct his leaders in the proper 
manner of discharging their duty. A duty of great 
practical importance ; but quite too much neglected by 
preachers, for the good and prosperity of the Church. 



CLASS MEETINGS, 



111 



4. The preacher is required to meet the leaders 
as often as possible, tc receive reports from their 
Classes, and consult and advise for the promotion of 
the interests of the Church. The Bishops' Notes say : 
"He should meet them, weekly, in towns, (stations) 
and, as often as may be, in the country." " But, 
above all, he is to exhort the leaders, to instruct 
them in the best mode of addressing their Classes, 
and to set before them the inestimable value of 
the precious souls respectively intrusted to their 
care." 

There is but too much reason to believe, that many 
preachers, even in stations, fail to hold, regularly, 
and as often as practicable, meetings of the leaders 
and stewards. In consequence, they are imperfectly 
acquainted with the condition and wants of their 
flocks, and cannot render their official forces as 
available as they otherwise would be. 

Without proper attention to this duty, how is he 
to comply with the rule, which requires him to 
" see that all the leaders be not only men of sound 
judgment, but men truly devoted to Grod?" 

Nor is his duty performed, at such meetings, when 
he has attended, in an orderly manner, to the mere 
business matters pertaining to them ; he is to " exhort 
and instruct the leaders," " and to set before them 
the inestimable value of the precious souls committed 
to their care." And an excellent plan is, to appro- 
priate a part of the time of each leaders' meeting 
to the exercises of a Class Meeting. This will not 
only give the preacher a better knowledge of the 
spiritual state of his leaders, but will tend greatly 



112 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



to improve their zeal, and elevate the tone of their 
religious feelings. 

5. It is also the duty of the preacher, to meet the 
Classes himself, as frequently as his other engagements 
will permit. 

It is matter of regret, that this duty is so much 
neglected by preachers. Many of them, seldom, if 
ever, meet the Classes under their care. This neglect 
of the preacher, is calculated to beget a like spirit 
of indifference on the part of the leader ; and the 
members will soon follow, if, indeed, they do not 
lead, in the neglect of an exercise always irksome to 
lukewarm and worldly-minded professors. 

Formerly, our preachers, in passing round their 
circuits, made it a matter of duty and conscience to 
meet every Class, unless providentially prevented ; 
and a preacher would as soon think of passing an 
appointment, without preaching to the congregation, 
as without meeting the Class ; and this, too, when 
preachers had, say, twice as much riding and preaching 
to do, as at present. And it would be well for 
preachers to consider, that, if they would but follow 
up their sermons with a lively and searching exami- 
nation of the Class, the effect of their labors would 
be incomparably more deep and lasting, than when 
they expend all their energies in preaching a long, 
and, perhaps, learned sermon, and leave the seed 
sown to take care of itself. By this exercise, the 
preacher's own spirit is quickened ; his interest and 
concern for his people is deepened ; the leader is 
encouraged in his work, by seeing the example of 
his pastor, and witnessing the importance he attaches 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



113 



to this duty : and the members are enlivened, and 
led to set a high value on Class Meetings, because 
their pastor and leader so estimate them. 

In this matter, the preacher may say, " Go," to 
the leaders and members, as persuasively, or as 
authoritatively, as may please him ; but his efforts 
will have little effect, until he leads the way himself, 
and, with hearty good will, says, " Come." 

6. Finally : when the preceding measures fail 
to bring members of the Church to a proper attendance 
upon this means of grace, it is the preacher's duty 
to deal with them according to the rules of the Church. 
When persons join our Church, they are required 
to give satisfaction, before the Church, that they are 
willing to keep our rules ; and this, too, after having 
had an opportunity of trying them, at least six months ; 
for, they must have met, at least six months, in Class, 
before they can be received into the Church. If, 
after this, they refuse submission to the rules which 
they have publicly, voluntarily, and, after a full trial, 
pledged themselves to observe and keep, it would be 
very unreasonable in them, to expect to retain their 
position in the Church. The offence against this rule, 
calling for the exercise of Discipline, is, " habitually 
breaking" it. {General Rules.') Or, as expressed 
in Chapter iv., Section 3, of Discipline, "Wilfully 
and repeatedly neglecting to meet their Class." A 
" wilful and repeated neglect ;" a " habitual breaking " 
of a solemn promise made to the Church, must be, 
in itself, a grave impropriety, amounting to a violation 
of one's word ; a breach of faith, which could be 
held innocent, only on the ground, that the promise 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



was fraudulently obtained, or was, in its nature, 
immoral. 

When members become thus wilfully neglectful of 
duty, it is the minister's duty to give attention to 
the cases, according to the Discipline. He must visit 
them, " admonish them of the error of their ways," 
and "bear with them for a season." (General 
Rules.*) If this should not prove effectual, he must 
" explain to them the consequences of continued 
neglect, viz., exclusion." (Discipline, p. 93.) "If 
they do not amend;" "if they repent not;" still, 
they shall be cited to appear before the society, or a 
select number ; and, if found guilty, by a majority 
of the members before whom the case is brought, 
" they have no more place among us. We have 
delivered our souls." (General Rules.) " Let them 
be laid aside ; and let the preacher show, that they 
are excluded for a breach of our rules, and not for 
immoral conduct." (Discipline, p. 93.) 

The course of Discipline seems sufficiently lenient 
in this case. The leader, and then the preacher, 
are required to visit, and admonish, the delinquent; 
if he continues wilfully disobedient, his fellow members 
are called to judge of his conduct and spirit ; and, 
even when found guilty, by their verdict, the mildest 
language, and the gentlest measures, are employed. 
Instead of a harsh expulsion, the rule says, " He has 
no more place among us;" "let him be laid aside;" 
and it is to be published, that it is not for immoral 
conduct, but for breach of our rules. And, even 
after all this, he has a right to appeal to a higher 
tribunal, if he think justice has not been done. But, 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



115 



forbearing, as the prescribed course is, the adminis- 
tration of many of our ministers falls greatly short 
of the rule. Persons are permitted to live, in wilful, 
habitual disregard, of the rules they are bound and 
pledged to keep, even for years, and are allowed to 
do so with impunity. This is offering perfect immunity 
to disobedience, and is calculated to bring the institu- 
tion and the administration into contempt, and to 
destroy the spirituality of the Church. " Be mild, 
but strict. Allow of no exempt cases," is the rule 
that must be observed, if we would have a spiritual 
Church, and " spread Scriptural holiness over these 
lands." 

Second. The duties of the class-leader. 

In our economy, this office is one of great impor- 
tance. The Bishops' Notes speak of it thus : " The 
office is of vast consequence. The revival of the work 
of God, does, perhaps, depend as much upon the whole 
body of leaders, as it does upon the ivhole body of 
preachers. We have, almost constantly, observed, 
that, when a leader is dull, or careless, or inactive ; 
when he has not abilities, or zeal, sufficient to reprove, 
with courage, though with gentleness, and to press 
a present salvation upon the hearts of the sincere, 
the Class is, in general, languid ; but, on the contrary, 
when the leader is much alive to God, and faithful 
it) his office, the Class is, also, in general, lively and 
spiritual. It is the same, in general, with a minister 
and his flock ; and, every leader is, in some degree, a 
gospel minister : though we may add, that, among us, a 
spiritual body of leaders may counteract the otherwise 
pernicious consequences of a languid ministry. 



116 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



With regard to authority for such an office, it can 
be only necessary to remark, it is clearly the right 
of a Church, to appoint such officers, either tem- 
porarily or permanently, as may be deemed necessary 
for the edification of the body. Even in the New 
Testament, clivers officers are named, as being called 
into the service of the Church, who appear not to be 
of the regular public ministry. 

Thus, we have not only Apostles, Evangelists, 
Pastors, Elders, Deacons, &c, but Teachers, Helps, 
$>c. And, if class-leaders fall not into the first 
classification above, they certainly do into the second. 
And, so, in the primitive Church, they had sub- 
deacons, lictors, and other officers. 

But, this point is so evident, that more need not 
be said of it. 

We come, now, more directly, to consider the 
official duties of a class-leader. These are : — 

1. " To see each member of his Class once a 
week." We have seen, that, originally, it was his 
duty to see them at their places of residence, indi- 
vidually. And, though a change was early made, 
by which all the members were to meet the leader 
at one place, weekly, this was not intended to release 
him from the duty of seeing each member once a 
week, when practicable ; but, to lighten his burden, 
by bringing to one place, weekly, all that could be 
collected. Those who do not meet him in Class, he 
is expected, in ordinary cases, to visit, personally, 
and ascertain the cause of their absence. It is very 
true, that, in the present neglected condition of the 
Classes, it would, in many cases, be a task of consider- 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



117 



able weight, for the leader to visit, weekly, all the 
absent members of his Class ; but, we know no other 
way of making it lighter, but by a faithful performance 
of it. This will have that effect : 1st. By rendering 
the labor pleasant to the leader. 2nd. By exciting 
a deeper interest in the hearts of members, which 
will bring them to the class-room. 3rd. Even luke- 
warm members would attend their Classes, rather 
than be constantly visited as delinquents ; unless they 
have lost their "desire to flee from the wrath to 
come, and be saved from their sins," entirely. And, 
if this be their condition, and they cannot be reclaimed 
from it, they should either withdraw or be " laid 
aside." If such a course were diligently pursued, 
it would not be long, until the truly sincere would 
become regular in their attendance, and would regard 
it as a high privilege; and the dead branches would 
fall off, and leave the Church freed from their 
clogging incumbrance. 

Leaders, however, sometimes fail short of duty, by 
neglecting to appoint Class Meetings regularly ; by 
failing to attend them when appointed; by attending 
after the appointed hour; and by a tedious and 
uninteresting manner of leading their Classes. Such 
a course is calculated to discourage the members, 
and to bring the institution into utter neglect, and 
even contempt. 

The duty we have been considering, is a general 
one, necessary to the discharge of others enumerated ; 
but, as, in the present posture of affairs, it involves 
important obligations, not in that enumeration, we 
have given it the place of a distinct item, 



118 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



2. The next part of the leader's duty, is, that to 
be performed in the class-room— or elsewhere, when 
he visits, or meets, his members — and is thus stated 
in the General Rules : " To inquire how their souls 
prosper." The Section of the Discipline on Class- 
Meeting, (p. 72) says, " Carefully to inquire how 
each soul in his Class prospers ; not only how each 
person observes the outward rules, but how he grows 
in the knowledge and love of God." His first care, 
then, should be, to ascertain the real condition, as 
nearly as possible, of each soul under his care, by 
carefully and plainly inquiring, first, how each one 
attends to his Christian duties ; as, reading God's 
holy Word, attending upon his ordinances, family 
prayer, private devotion, &c. But, if he adopt a 
vague, stereotyped form of inquiry, such as, " How 
are you prospering?" "Is it still your desire to 
serve God ?" and the like, without going into home 
questions and searching inquiries, he may meet the 
same member, for years, without knowing whether he 
prays in his family, or in secret, or wholly neglects 
these and other duties. He should, secondly, inquire 
into their spiritual state, and learn if they have 
present enjoyment in religion ; if their confidence and 
hope gain strength ; if they gain power over their 
besetting sins ; if duty becomes more pleasant to 
them ; and, so, of other points. And, having, like a 
skilful physician, acquired what knowledge he can 
of the condition of his patient, it becomes his duty 
to prescribe, agreeably to the indications presented. 
" To advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion 
may require." (General Rules.*) And, with this 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



knowledge of their state, he will be enabled to send 
his words home, and reach the proper point. 'This 
duty and exercise is so reasonable, and so well 
accords with the teachings of God's Word, that it 
would seem unnecessary to defend it, against either 
men of reason or men of religion. There is a striking 
agreement between the duty of a leader, as here 
prescribed, and that of a minister, in visiting the 
sick, as laid down in the Presbyterian Confession 
of Faith: "It is the minister's duty to administer 
(having first ascertained his spiritual state) instruction, 
conviction, support, consolation, or encouragement, as 
his case may seem to require." (Confession of Faith, 
p. 447.) And, if it be a solemn duty to do this, 
when members are sick, its propriety, in health, can 
hardly be doubted, and its good effects are nearly 
certain. 

Another part of the leader's duty, is, to receive, 
from his Class, their contributions for the support 
of the gospel. And, if all leaders attend, faithfully, 
to this part of their work; and, especially, if they, 
at the same time, did not leave any other part 
undone, we verily believe the effect would be, to 
prevent faithful ministers from suffering painful embar- 
rassment from want of support, and very greatly to 
diminish the number of locations, among those whose 
experience and abilities well qualify them for extensive 
usefulness in the Church. 

3. Another class of duty, pertaining to the office 
of a class-leader, has respect to his pastor and to his 
fellow officers. It is his duty, " To meet the ministers 
and stewards of the society, once a week," in stations, 



120 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



where a leaders' meeting should be held weekly ; 
and, in country places, to meet when opportunity 
offers. Yet, it is no uncommon occurrence, for one 
half the leaders to be absent from the regular leaders' 
meeting. Such delinquency tends to throw the whole 
machinery of our system out of joint: and, should, 
in good conscience, be carefully guarded against, by 
those upon whom the duty rests. 

At this meeting, it is the duty of the leader, 
besides paying over to the stewards what he may 
have collected, " To inform the minister of any that 
are sick, or of any that walk disorderly, and will 
not be reproved." 

This duty necessarily implies, that of " seeing his 
members once a week," as already noticed. When 
they are absent from Class Meeting, the reasonable 
conclusion is, that they are either sick, lukewarm, or 
walking disorderly ; and he should, therefore, if 
practicable, see them, and, if sick, administer such 
comfort and aid as the case may require, and report 
them to the pastor, that he, too, may visit them. 
If they have become indifferent about their duty, he 
should exhort them to greater diligence ; if they are 
" walking disorderly," he should plainly, but affection- 
ately, reprove, and correct them ; if the erring one 
hear him, he has gained his brother ; but, if he 
be perverse, and will not receive reproof for his 
improprieties, it is the leader's duty to report the 
case to the pastor. And, were these duties faithfully 
attended to, doubtless many precious souls would be 
thereby reclaimed from their wanderings, and rendered 
useful members of the Church of God, 



CLASS MEETINGS 



121 



But, how is the leader to report the sick and the 
disorderly, unless he visit his members, to ascertain 
their condition ? Why is it made his special duty 
to make these reports, unless he is to take the 
necessary steps to gain the information in question ? 
The view we have taken of this matter, is strictly 
In accordance with that presented by Bishops Coke 
and Asbury, in their Notes. After adverting to the 
change from the original plan of visiting the members, 
individually, to that of meeting them all together, 
they add, " At the same time, the leader is expected 
to visit the members of his Class, at their own houses ; 
especially, when they are sick, or confined, as often 
as his circumstances will admit.' 9 

It is, also, a duty of the leader, to " converse 
frequently, and freely," with the minister under 
whose charge he is, that, so, he may be the better 
prepared for the discharge of his duties, and that 
the minister may, the more fully, understand the 
condition of his Class. By this means, too, the 
leader may, in a good degree, counteract the effect 
of any neglect of duty on the minister's part. 

Third. Duty of members. 

A duty rests on the membership of the Church, 
answering to that of ministers and leaders. If 
members do not feel under moral obligations to fulfil 
their covenant with the Church, by faithful and 
conscientious attendance upon its appointed means of 
grace, it will be of little avail, as they are concerned 
that preachers and leaders discharge their duty. 
But, unhappily, the effect of delinquency, on the 
part of one member, extends to others, and operates. 



122 



CLASS MEETINGS. 



perniciously, to the extent of his influence. Men 
ought to make up their minds, fully and firmly, to 
" observe, and keep, the rules of the Church," or 
they should not join it at all. Or, if, having joined 
with such a determination, they have lost it, they 
should either recover their lost resolution, or, if 
determined not to comply with their obligations to 
the Church, they should withdraw from it, and not 
be stumbling-blocks in the way of others. 

It is not difficult to find those who tell us they 
do not enjoy Class Meetings, and, therefore, do not 
desire to attend them. And this is no doubt true, 
for a most obvious reason ; but, with an experience 
of many years, on this subject, we have yet to find 
the first zealous Christian, faithful in other duties, 
and seeking to grow in grace, who did not love a 
lively Class Meeting, and feel profited by it. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
AVOIDING EVIL— PROFANE SWEARING. 



Scripture testimony against this vice — It is without excuse — 
Weakens confidence in swearer's veracity — Tends to lessen 
reverence for God — Other forms of profanity beside direct 
swearing — Lord Chesterfield's testimony against it — Tends to 
weaken the force of judicial oaths — Propriety of such oaths 
shown — Duty of Christians to reprove this vice — Examples. 

We have seen, that true repentance is the proper 
condition of admission into the Church ; but, a question 
arises, how is the genuineness of repentance — the 
sincerity of the desire to flee from the wrath to 
come, and its continued existence and exercise — to 
be known, or judged of? Our simple moral code 
says, "But, wherever this is really fixed in the soul, 
it will be shown by its fruits." And the bearing 
of these fruits we require ; for, continues the rule, 
" It is, therefore, expected of all who continue therein, 
(in the society) that they should continue to evidence 
their desire for salvation, by doing no harm, by 
avoiding evil of every hind, especially that which is 
most generally practiced; such as, the taking of 
the name of Grod in vain." 

" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain," is the third precept of the Decalogue 
— that great moral constitution of God's first organized 
Church in the world ; and u Hallowed be thy name/' 



124 



AVOIDING EVIL. 



is the first petition taught us, in the inimitable prayer 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout the Word of 
God, as well in the Old as in the New Testament, the 
clearest and strongest testimony is borne against this 
vice. " By reason of swearing, the land mourneth," 
is a declaration of Divine inspiration ; Hosea iv. 2 ; 
and the command of Christ himself is, " Swear not 
at all." "Every one that sweareth, shall be cut off." 
Zechariah v. 3. " Neither shalt thou profane the 
name of thy God." Leviticus xviii. 21. " Above 
all tilings, my brethren, swear not." James v. 12. 
This vice has fewer excuses to plead, than most 
others : it is even without a plea, in the native 
inclinations of the depraved heart— no one having an 
original inherent inclination to profane the name of 
the Lord. Nor can selfishness furnish any thing 
in extenuation of its guilt. A desire of gam, or 
of sensual gratification, may impel to a violation of 
nearly all the other commandments ; but no such 
excuses, miserable as they are, can be pleaded, in 
behalf of this unnatural vice. 

Nor can such profane appeal to the Supreme 
Being, be employed, either innocently, in confirmation 
of truth, or successfully, for the establishment of 
falsehood; for the effect is rather to weaken, than 
to strengthen, any declaration it may be intended to 
sustain ; for the just inference of all upright and 
sensible men will be, that he who will violate the 
law of God against profanity, will not scruple to 
violate God's law against falsehood. The first is an 
indignity offered to the Lord of Heaven, the other 
is an attempt to deceive a fellow man ; and it is 



PROEAXE SWEARING. 



125 



hardly to be expected, that a man who will violate 
a divine law, the breach of which insults the honor 
of God, will scrupulously respect another divine law, 
the violation of which injures or deceives man ; unless, 
indeed, it be assumed, that it is more criminal to sin 
against man, than to sin directly against God. 

It has, however, been pleaded, in extenuation of 
profane swearing, if not in its justification, that it at 
least wrongs no man, and that, of course, the Deity 
cannot be injured by it. " Wherein, then," it has 
been inquired, " consists the wrong, or sinfulness, of 
the practice?" We reply: 1st. It being a conceded 
point, that a mere prohibition, by the being, or body, 
having a right to prescribe rules of conduct, renders 
disobedience criminal ; that, therefore, which God 
forbids, is wrong, because he forbids it. 2nd. That 
it may be a wrong in his bearings on the Divine 
government, the injurious tendencies of which, are not 
discernible by the limited minds of mortals. Hence, 
it does not follow, that nothing is wrong, or sinful, 
but that which we can see to be so, by its practical 
and direct effects on society ; but, 3rdly. We can 
clearly perceive the evil influence of profane swearing 
on the moral feelings and habits of men. Reverence 
for God, is the foundation, not only of all true 
devotion, but also of obedience and morality. 

Every thing, therefore, the effect of which is, to 
destroy, or even lessen, reverence for the Divine 
character, cannot be less than sinful against God, 
directly, and injurious to the morals of society. And, 
that such is the legitimate effect of an irreverent, or 
profane use of the sacred name, requires only a 



126 



AVOIDING EVIL. 



moment's reflection to prove to any sober mind. 
The name of God, connects, inseparably, with God 
himself. If the name of God be habitually used, in 
low and vicious associations, the mind will acquire 
a habit of associating the character of the Deity, as 
his name is habitually associated. Hence, when the 
holy name of the Lord is heard in haunts of vice, 
and from tongues depraved and profane — when it is 
belched forth in threats of vengeance, in gusts of 
unholy passion, mingled in the profane jest, and 
made a part of the drunkard's song — it needs no 
proof to convince an honest mind, that reverence for 
God is thereby greatly lowered, or destroyed ; and not 
only in the minds of those who thus desecrate the 
Divine name, but also of those — and especially the 
young — who constantly hear it so employed. Accord- 
ingly, we find it no uncommon thing with young 
persons, to look upon profane swearing as a manly 
accomplishment, rather than a thing to be shunned, 
and loathed, as sinful and degrading. The name 
of God associates hi their minds no feeling, no 
thought of reverence. 

Now, when the supreme power, even among men, 
is contemned — despised — by the subjects, the true 
principle of obedience is gone, and the chief ligament 
binding society together, as a civil organization, is 
effectually severed; how much more, then, must 
the contemning of the Divine name, character, and 
authority, of the Supreme Governor of the Universe, 
have the effect to weaken a sense of moral obligation, 
on the part of the subjects of that government, and 
lower the universal standard of morality among men. 



PROFANE SWEARING. 



127 



And it will not be disputed, that it is rare to find 
one a confirmed profane swearer, who is, at the same 
time, free from other forms of immorality. 

It should be remarked, that there are forms of 
profanity, or of taking the name of the Lord in vain, 
besides those more coarse and vulgar ones, which are 
generally condemned by society, and which seem to be 
looked on as innocent, by many who abhor the vice 
in its grosser forms. "We allude to appeals made to 
the name of God, in a light and thoughtless manner, 
and often on the most trivial occasions. And here 
let it be noticed, that " the commandment is exceeding 
broad." It is not limited to profane swearing — which 
imports an appeal to God, for the confirmation of 
some declaration made—but extends to " taking the 
name of the Lord in vain," which as fully embraces 
every light and irreverent use of God's holy name, 
as it does profane swearing in a stricter sense. But, 
there are many, and, among the number, not a few 
professors of the religion of the Saviour, who use 
the name of Jehovah as a sort of by-word, to be 
employed on all occasions, as an exclamation of 
astonishment, of fear, of joy, or even of disappointment 
or irritation. All this is wrong ; " for the Lord will 
not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain ;" 
and, evidently, all such uses of the Divine name, is 
a violation of God's commandment. 

Lord Chesterfield, emphatically a man of the world, 
remarks of this vice : " We frequently hear some 
people, in good company, interlard their conversation 
with oaths, by way of embellishment, as they suppose ; 
but, we must obseiwe, too, that those who do so, are 



128 



AVOIDING EVIL, 



never those who contribute, in any degree, to giye 
that company the denomination of good company. 
They are, generally, people of low education ; for, 
swearing, without having a single temptation to 
plead, is as silly and illiberal as it is wicked/' 
Another, says, "It is neither brave, p&MU, nor 
wise." 

An additional consideration, showing the wicked- 
ness of profane cursing and swearing, is found in 
the fact, that it tends, directly, to weaken the force 
and effect of judicial oaths, so essential in carrying 
out the ends of civil government. Officers are 
not permitted, in civilized governments, to enact, 
adjudicate, or execute laws ; nor witnesses, to testify in 
eases involving the life, character, liberty, or property, 
of others, without first taking upon them the binding 
solemnities of an oath. Such an oath, in whatever 
form administered, is nothing else than a solemn 
appeal to God, to witness the truth of a declaration, 
and an invocation of his judgments, in case of 
falsehood. The solemn upraising of the right hand, 
among the Jews, touching the altar of the god by 
whom they swore, or striking down the sacrifice, 
among the Greeks and Romans ; and, in our own 
times, swearing with the right hand resting on the 
New Testament— -the record of the new covenant- 
and afterwards kissing it; the formal invocation, 
" so help me God ;" and, " as you shall answer to 
God at the great day "—all go to show this to be 
the nature of a judicial oath. And, whenever such 
oaths cease to possess the utmost sacredness, there 
can be no security of property, life, or character, 



PROFANE SWEARING. 



129 



Baron Montesquieu says: " There is no nation 
living, which has been longer uncorrupted than the 
Romans ; no nation, where moderation and poverty 
have been longer respected. Such was the influence 
of an oath among those people, that nothing bound 
them stronger to the laws. They often did more for 
the observance of an oath, than they would have 
done for their thirst of glory, or for the love of their 
country." Spirit of Laws. chap. xiii. p. 144. Yet, 
all history testifies, that, when reverence for an 
oath became diminished among the Romans, and the 
Epicurean system, which discarded the doctrine of 
Providence, was introduced, the honor and prosperity 
of the Romans at once began to decline. 

Now, swearing is an appeal to God, as before 
remarked, for the truth of our declaration. But, 
suppose a man in the habit of making such appeals 
to the Supreme Being every hour, profanely, lightly, 
angrily, . jestingly ; must not the tendency be, to 
diminish, or even destroy, the sacredness of an 
appeal to God ? And can he be expected to feel 
its binding force, equally with the man who never 
makes such an appeal, but reverently and religiously? 
It is true, the legal formality accompanying the 
administration of a judicial oath, may have some 
effect to wake up attention to the serious character 
of such an appeal, and thus give security against 
perjury. But, even this formality is passed through, in 
many cases, with, such careless hurry, and irreverent 
levity, on the part of the officer— himself, perhaps, a 
profane swearer — that the security, at that point, is 
not, by any means, what could be desired. 



130 



AVOIDING EVIL. 



Some persons have thought, that the prohibition, 
" Swear not at all," embraces judicial, as well as 
profane swearing; yet, contradict their own doctrine, 
by solemnly "affirming, under the pains and penalties 
of perjury," which comprehends the very essence 
of a judicial oath. The declaration, that " an oath, 
for confirmation, is the end of all strife," gives 
sanction to the practice ; and Christ himself, when 
put on oath by his judge, hesitated not to answer 
on oath. 

If universal truth, honor, and justice, reigned over 
all the earth, such security would, to be sure, be 
unnecessary; but this is not the case. Yet, even 
then, the moral lawfulness of judicial oaths would 
not, as it appears to us, be destroyed ; though their 
employment might become unnecessary for the security 
of society. The Supreme Being, himself, the more 
fully to assure the heirs of promise, condescended to 
confirm his word by an oath ; that, by two immutable 
tilings — his promise and his oath — in which it was 
impossible for God to lie, we might have strong 
consolation. 

A judicial oath is in the nature of a solemn 
religious vow, and should always be administered with 
a religious solemness, and under suitably impressive 
forms. The careless, irreverent manner, in which 
this is but too commonly performed, is certainly of 
immoral tendency. 

It is the duty of Christians, not only to avoid 
all forms and degrees of profanity, but also to do 
all in their power to exterminate the vice from 
society . 



PROFANE SWEARING. 



131 



To this end, it is a duty to reprove profaneness, 
whenever suitable opportunity offers. But, to do 
this, successfully, it must be performed with great 
prudence ; for, injudicious or untimely reproof, will 
always be more likely to irritate than to reform. 
No harsh language should be used ; no resentful 
or contemptuous feeling should be manifested in 
reproving ; nor should it be done in company, if 
avoidable ; and, especially, not in a manner to inflict 
great mortification on the offender. As the vice 
has no defence, and, therefore, no defenders — at 
least, no respectable ones— any man, when prudently 
approached, will readily confess the folly, if not the 
wickedness, of the habit ; and the chief difficulty 
lies, in making an impression sufficiently strong to 
operate as a check on the habit. Perhaps no other 
vice could be so effectually operated on, by prudent 
reproof, as this. 

Mr. Buck relates several anecdotes bearing on this 
point. At a dinner party, on a certain occasion, a 
gentleman of fashion spoke with great enthusiasm in 
eulogy of the virtues of Charles I., but embellished 
his discourse with many oaths. Mr. Howe, who was 
present, agreed with him in the opinions expressed, 
but was astonished to find him overlook one of 
Charles' great excellencies. The gentleman inquired, 
eagerly, what virtue he referred to. " That he 
was never heard to swear a profane oath," replied 
Mr. Howe. The swearer apologized, and promised 
reformation. 

The same gentleman — Mr. Howe — one day, passed 
where two men were cursing each other with great 



132 



PROFANE SWEARING. 



bitterness ; he took off his hat, and said, very devoutly, 
" I pray God to bless you both." The reproof was 
effectual. 

A peasant, hearing an Archbishop, who was also 
Elector^ of Cologne, swear profanely, put on such a 
look of astonishment as caused his reverence to inquire 
what he was so surprised at. " To hear an Archbishop 
swear," replied the peasant. " I swear not as an 
Archbishop, but as a Prince," responded the Elector. 
"But, my Lord," said the peasant, "when the devil 
takes the Prince for swearing, what will become of 
the Archbishop?" 

Mr. Romaine, hearing a man swearing profanely, 
but, apparently, without being conscious of it, paused, 
drew out a half crown, and said to him, " I will give 
you that money, if you will ask God to damn your 
soul." The man appeared startled at so shocking a 
proposal, and inquired why Mr. Bomaine supposed 
he would be hired to do so wicked a thing. " You 
did it just now, for nothing; and I could not doubt 
that you would repeat it for pay," said Mr. Bomaine. 
" God bless and reward you," said the swearer, " who 
ever you are : I hope I shall never swear again." 

A Mr. G., a member of the National Church, but 

a profane swearer, lived in a pious family at S- . 

A little child, of four years old, being shocked with 
his profanity, inquired of her mother, if Mr. G. said, 
" Our Father ;" but her mother could not inform 
her, and she resolved to find out by watching; and 
found that he did say prayers regularly. Soon after, 
she heard him swear very bitterly, and, approaching 
him, she said, "Mr. G., did you not say 4 Our Father,' 



I 



PROFANE SWEARING. 133 

this morning ? How, then, dare you swear ? Do 
you think he will be your Father, if you swear ?" 
He did not live long after; but, while he did live, 
was never known to swear. 

Mr. Cowper, the poet, reproves the -vice in the 
following well-pointed lines: — 

" A Persian, humble servant of the sun, 
Who, though devout, yet bigotry had none; 
Hearing a lawyer, grave in his address, 
With adjurations every word impress, 
Supposed the man a bishop, or at least — 
God's name so much upon his hps — a priest; 
Bowed, at the close, with all his graceful airs, 
And begged an interest in his fervent prayers." 

A gentleman, not long since, was denouncing a 
teacher as being ignorant of the principles of Grammar ; 
and, in doing so, employed the following sentence, with 
a compound oath at each point where we place a dash : 

" I tried the fellow, and — — I found he could 

not parse a single — — sentence correctly." "That 
may be," replied the gentleman to whom his remarks 
were addressed, " and still he may be a good gram- 
marian; for some sentences cannot be parsed: the 
following, for example, from high authority, no one 

can parse," and then beginning, " I tried the 

fellow," &c, quoting the gentleman's own words 
throughout. " I thank you," said the reproved man, 
"I am truly ashamed of a habit which makes a man, 
at once, violate the rules of grammar, of good breeding, 
and sound morality ; and I will quit it." 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE SABBATH. 



Instituted at Creation — Its necessity seen in physical and moral 
constitution requiring rest — The command respects a seventh 
part of our time, as measured by days, rather than a particular 
day — The observance of the same identical day impracticable 
— Right to change the Jewish day — Original ordinance not 
repealed — virtually re-enacted — Sabbath both a civil and religious 
institution among the Jews, and so among Christian nations ; 
enforced by law only, in its civil character. How far legislatures 
may rightfully go — Church must enforce religious observance 
of the day. 

The obligation of the Sabbath is clearly settled 
by the sacred Scriptures. It was instituted at the 
creation of man ; and its necessity is apparent, in 
both his physical and moral constitution. It is an 
appointment of one day, in seven, to be devoted to 
rest. A fact, needing no proof, is, that both the 
human body and mind require rest, in order to keep 
them in a healthful, vigorous state, for any considerable 
length of time ; accordingly, the Creator benevolently 
ordained, that one seventh part of our time should be 
appropriated to rest. And a proper consideration of 
this fact, would, it appears to us, dispose of the endless 
controversies that have been carried on, about the 
particular day, in seven, proper to be observed ; and 
about the proper manner of observing the day. The 



THE SABBATH. 



135 



command is, not to keep holy a day which we call 
the seventh, as a name by which to distinguish it 
from the first, or any other ; but, the command 
embraces one seventh part of our time, at regular 
periods, as marked by days. The command would 
not be fulfilled, nor its benevolent object attained, by 
resting every seventh hour, or month, or year; for, 
the intervals would be too short, in the first case, 
and, besides, would conflict with a rest of hours, 
which God has ordained in each day ; and, in the 
latter cases, the intervals would be too long ; therefore, 
the ordinance requires a seventh part of our time, as 
measured by days. When God ordained that the 
"tenth part" of the Israelite's substance should be 
given for religious uses, the plain import is a tenth, 
and not particular items amounting to that proportion, 
designated by that name. A tenth was consecrated 
to sacred uses ; but, until it was designated, and 
separated from the residue, one part was no more 
sacred, no more the Lord's, than another; but, 
when once so set apart, it became sacred to the 
uses appointed. So, " the seventh day" no more 
means Saturday — as we denominate it — than it does 
Sunday ; but a seventh day, or a day in every seven 
days. The only argument for a different construction, 
is, that as God made the Heavens and the Earth in 
six days, and rested on the seventh, so consecrating 
it to rest, every seventh day from that on w T hich the 
Creator rested — and no other — has been a proper 
Sabbath, agreeably to the original institution. But, 
in order to give efiect to the argument, it should be 
proved, or, at least, shown to be probable, that, from 



136 



THE SABBATH, 



the creation, down through the period in which " all 
flesh had corrupted its way," and the thoughts of 
man's heart " were only evil," and that " continually," 
the Sabbaths had been regularly observed, down to 
the time of the giving of the law, when this statute 
was re-enacted ; and, that, thence, down to Christ, 
the Jews, through all their apostacies, long captivities 
among the heathen, and abominable idolatries, had 
done the same thing ; and that the seventh day, 
counting regularly downward from the seventh of 
creation, had been even kept up, and was certainly 
known at the end of four thousand years. This, 
probably, no one will be bold enough to undertake ; 
and, therefore, the argument becomes forceless and 
void. It is certain, that the day kept as the seventh, 
by the Jews, was known by all, at the time of the 
Saviour's advent; but, no one knew it certainly to 
be the seventh, in regular seventh day succession, 
either from the creation or from the giving of the 
law. Evidence that it could not have been of the 
essence of the original command, that the identical 
day, of twenty-four hours, should be kept sacred, in 
each week, from the first Sabbath clown to the end 
of time, and every where, is found in the impossibility 
of the thing. Thus, the Jewish Sabbath commenced 
at sunset, on the sixth day of the week, and closed 
at sunset, on the seventh. Now, how are we, and 
our antipodes, on the opposite side of the globe, to 
keep this law on the same day, at the same time ? 
With them, it is "the sixth hour of the sixth day;" 
and all labor ceases, and the Sabbath begins; but, 
it is with us, at the same instant, sunrise, on the 



THE SABBATH. 



13T 



sixth day ; and we go forth to our labor, and 
perform a full day's work, before the antipodal 
Sabbath reaches us. Nay, more : even in our own 
country, the Sabbath begins, and ends, considerably 
later in one longitude than in another. The disciples 
of Christ had, therefore, a legitimate right to adopt, 
as the day of rest, that day on which the Saviour 
conquered death, rose from the grave, and, as it 
were, rested from his fierce contest with the powers 
of death and hell. 

It has, however, been contended by some, that the 
Sabbath, being a Jewish institution, all obligation to 
observe it has passed away, with the other ceremonies 
of the Jewish ritual ; and that its only present 
obligation is, as a civil institution; or, at least, one 
only intended to serve the convenience of man, and 
possessing no peculiar sacredness of character. One 
support of this theory, we have attempted to remove, 
by treating the question of a change of the day from 
the seventh to the first ; for seme, if not all its 
advocates, contend, that, if there were any sacredness 
in the original Sabbath, there is none in a day 
substituted for it, and not commanded by Divine 
authority. 

But, having already disposed of this point, it will 
not be directly referred to again. To the main 
argument, however, we shall make some more direct 
reply. 

First, then, the Sabbath was instituted at the 
creation, and many centuries before the establishment 
of the Jewish polity ; and the re-enactment of it, 
as found in the Decalogue, is specifically based on 



138 



THE SABBATH. 



its prior existence and original institution: "For in six 
days God made Heaven and Earth, &c, and rested on 
the seventh day, and halloiued it." This is the reason 
assigned for its re-enactment : it was not, therefore, 
originally, a Jeivish institution ; much less one of the 
Jewish ceremonial laws. Of the laws given to the Jews 
by Moses, some were ceremonial, some purely civil, and 
some moral. The ceremonial ceased to be of force, 
on the bringing in of the better dispensation to which 
they referred, and which they adumbrated; the civil 
ceased with the Jewish polity, and, indeed, never 
were of binding obligation, beyond the limits of Jewish 
jurisdiction ; but, the moral, being founded on the 
nature of the government of God, and the constitution 
of man, is as abiding as the unalterable character of 
the first, or the unvarying elements of the second. 
The command, to keep holy the Sabbath, is found 
m the same great code — the ten commandments— 
with the commands against murder, theft, and perjury. 
Are those commands moral, and of perpetual obliga- 
tion ? So is that of the Sabbath. It has been 
urged, that the law of the Sabbath was not re-enacted, 
or ratified, by Jesus Christ ; and, that, at least, to 
some extent, the others were. To this, it may be 
replied, first, that Christ found the Jews in an 
extreme, on the subject of the Sabbath ; insomuch, 
that he deemed it necessary to correct their errors, 
and reprove their folly, on this point ; for, works 
of necessity and of mercy, were, by them, alike 
regarded as criminal, on the Sabbath, as ordinary 
labor, or the grossest possible violation of its require- 
ments. Hence, it was not needful, to urge, very 



THE SABBATH. 



139 



strongly, upon them, the observance of a command 
which already they kept, with a strictness, contra- 
vening, at least, a part of its original design. But, 
secondly, a law, once enacted, remains ever in force, 
until repealed, or, until the power enacting it, ceases 
to possess authority to enforce it. But, the law of 
the Sabbath was enacted by the God of all, and has 
a place in his statute book, unrepealed ; and, until 
the advocates of the opposite position can show a 
repeal of the fourth commandment, or prove that 
He who shook Sinai, and sent out fearful thunders 
and lightnings at its giving, has ceased to be Universal 
Governor — ceased to be God— -we may safely declare 
that law still in full force. 

But, if a positive re-enactment of the law of the 
Sabbath, by Christ, be insisted on, we have even 
that, as we believe. Christ declared himself " Lord 
of the Sabbath;" Matthew xi. 8; and, accordingly, 
the day was changed, so as most to honor its Lord. 
He said, furthermore, " I came not to destroy the 
law" This was spoken of either the ceremonial 
or the moral law ; but, it was not spoken of the 
ceremonial law, because he did come to destroy, or 
abrogate, that law. The moral law, was, therefore, 
necessarily intended ; and the Sabbath was a prominent 
part of that law, being one of the ten commandments. 
This he came not to destroy, but to fulfil, or confirm. 
This appears very like a full recognition of the Sabbath 
as an abiding law. 

Again: when a certain ruler came to Jesus, 
inquiring the way of salvation, Christ directed him 
to keep the commandments, and reminded him that 



140 



THE SABBATH. 



he knew them. The ruler inquired, "Which" com- 
mandments ? As if he had said, " Yes, I know 
them; but, which do you mean, the moral or the 
ceremonial ?" Christ answered that question, by 
naming four of the ten commandments. Now, in 
thus naming a part, and not all, of the commandments, 
we suppose Christ designed to indicate the class of 
commandments to which he had before referred ; and 
not to intimate, that those specified were of binding 
obligation, and the others not so. Indeed, this must 
have been the case, or else he intended to say, that 
six of the commandments were not in force. For 
this, no one contends ; and, hence, the conclusion is 
necessary, that Christ distinctly recognized the binding 
force of all the ten commandments, and, of course, 
of the one concerning the Sabbath. Either six of 
the commandments are here virtually repealed, or the 
whole ten fully recognized, or — if it be preferred — 
N re-enacted. 

Again : when a doctor of the law inquired of Christ, 
" Which was the great commandment of the law," he 
answered, not by specifying any particular one, but 
by embracing all pertaining to the first table— or 
duties to God — as one commandment, and calls it 
the first and great command ; adding, " The second 
is like unto it ;" and, then, in like manner, by the 
comprehensive requirement, " Thcu shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself," includes all the second table, 
or relative duties of the law. Here the entire ten 
commandments are clearly recognized under their 
two classifications ; and the fourth is as certainly 
included as the first, sixth, or ninth. 



THE SABBATH. 



141 



All, then, are bound to keep the Sabbath holy ; 
but, hoiv is the Sabbath to be kept ? This is a 
question of some practical importance ; for, as in the 
clays of Christ, a party existed, who went to the 
extreme of forbidding works of mercy and necessity 
on the Sabbath; and, another party, who looked upon 
the day as a period to be devoted to amusements, 
or selfish gratification, as inclination might lead; so, 
now, are to be found, parties of the same description ; 
and, to seek out the just medium between those 
extremes, is the duty of the well balanced and 
intelligent Christian. 

Among the Jews, the Sabbath was both a civil 
and religious institution ; and, in this double character, 
its observance was enforced by corporeal penalties. 
These qualities are, indeed, inherent in the nature 
of the Sabbath, and its original objects ; and, therefore, 
neither of them can be overlooked now — no more than 
then — without a departure from its primary design, 
and a loss of a portion of its intended benefits. 
Accordingly, in Christian countries, it is observed as 
a civil ordinance, necessary to the health and happiness 
of society ; and the keeping of it is enforced by the 
laws of the land. So much, civil governments may, 
of right, do, without any interference with the rights 
of conscience ; and, indeed, this is due to the subjects 
of government, as a part of the protection due their 
relation ; but, as, in our country, the civil government 
has no direct control over the religious rights of the 
people, the religious observance of the Christian 
Sabbath cannot be enforced by the laws of the land ; 
and, is, therefore, very properly left to the manage- 



142 



THE SABBATH. 



ment of the Churches. This necessary distinction 
between the civil and religious bearings of the Sabbath, 
has evidently been overlooked, both by those who 
would have the government to enforce a strictly 
religious sanctifying of the Sabbath, and by those 
who look upon all kinds of legislation on the subject, 
as a violation of the rights of conscience. The 
government has an unquestionable right to prohibit, 
by law, any act, whose tendency is, to injure the 
health or morals of society ; and both these effects 
are likely to follow a desecration of the Sabbath. 
As to the question of health, every person of observa- 
tion must be convinced, that a continuous course of 
unremitting labor, for a long period, has a strong 
and direct tendency to waste the energies and 
prostrate the powers— mental and physical. Powerful 
constitutions, may, in rare cases, bear up, for a 
considerable period, against the prostrating tendencies 
of continuous exertion ; and, in like manner, cases 
may be occasionally found, in which men can endure 
the loss of sleep for a long time ; yet, these are only 
exceptions to a general rule — in the one case as in 
the other — and prove nothing against our position. 
The general tendency, is, evidently, as we have 
stated ; and, hence, the subject is a legitimate one, 
to be acted on by the civil guardians of the public 
weal. 

Admit that the necessity of a periodical suspension 
of the ordinary vocations of life, is necessary for man, 
regarded merely as a citizen of civil community, and 
then it becomes the duty of the legislature to guard 
this interest by proper enactments ; because, though 



THE SABBATH. 



143 



all might admit the existence of the necessity, unless 
controlled, in the matter, by something authoritative, 
men would be guided by their supposed interests, or 
convenience, to the sacrifice of higher considerations ; 
and few would find leisure to observe a Sabbath of 
rest, determined on by their own convenience. And, 
beside, the tiling would be impossible, unless the 
agreement were universal, or, at least, general, and 
concurrent, in society ; for, so are all the members 
of society linked together, by business connections 
and relations, that business could not be carried on, 
while, say, a seventh part of the community was 
withdrawn from business, on the first day of the week, 
another seventh on the second, and so on, through 
the week. It has, however, been sometimes said, 
that, as, in this country, a Sabbath is established by 
the law of common usage, this is sufficient, without 
any legislative action in the premises ; and every one 
should be allowed, freely, to follow his own interests, 
or inclinations, on the subject. But, this does not 
cover the case ; for, such a day being established, 
and generally observed, if the thing is for the good 
of society, all should be alike required to observe it, 
that all may occupy a ground of common equality in 
the matter ; and, if it be a wrong to society, it should 
be suppressed entirely. And a positive good, or evil, 
to society, it must necessarily be : a good, in giving 
needful and invigorating rest to the bodies and minds 
of the laboring millions, or an evil, in abstracting 
from society about fourteen per cent, of its wealth 
of labor. But, if the day is to be observed at all, 
the manner of its observance should be so far regulated 



144 



THE SABBATH. 



by the government, as, at least, to protect society 
against moral mischiefs from that source. 

To illustrate this point a little more fully, a day, 
called Christmas, is observed, as the anniversary 
of the Saviour's nativity, without any intervention of 
civil authority. This period, particularly in some 
portions of our country, is observed as a great gala 
day; a day, not only of rest, but of mirth and 
hilarity. The same general remarks will apply to 
the anniversary of American Independence. Now, 
suppose these periods of suspension of the ordinary 
business of life, to occur at intervals of, say, twenty 
days, instead of occurring yearly, as at present ; 
and, to be under no control, save the inclinations, 
passions, and impulses, of the populace ; the effect 
on the morals of society would be mischievous in the 
extreme, and would soon compel the intervention of 
the civil authority, to regulate public manners, and 
correct public morals. 

And what would be true in the case supposed, 
would be equally true of the Sabbath, were it 
made, by usage, a day of rest from ordinary labor ; 
but, leaving all at liberty to labor or rest, sport or 
worship, at discretion. Its tendencies would be, 
to dissipation, riotous conduct, and all manner of 
social excesses. Hence, it becomes the duty of the 
governing power, to enact and enforce laws against 
such conduct — such as disorderly assemblies on that 
day, selling or buying, and, especially, selling intoxi- 
cating drinks — and to enjoin, generally, the orderly 
observance of the day. Indeed, either this must 
be done, or the day be abolished, as a day of 



THE SABBATH. 



145 



general respite from labor, or the public morals 
must be ruined — at least, injured. 

But, legislative action, alone, cannot effect the 
whole design of the Sabbath. It can recognize the 
day, and forbid ordinary labor, buying and selling, 
and such conduct as is injurious to public morals ; 
yet, all this is but of a negative character, and must 
be very ineffectual, without something of a more 
positive nature ; for, absolute rest, or idleness, is 
out of the question ; men must, by the law of their 
nature, be employed ; the mind will be active, and, 
generally, the body will be employed about something ; 
and, to enact, therefore, that man shall not do certain 
enumerated acts, on the Sabbath, is, virtually, but 
to enact, that they shall do something else, without 
determining what that something shall be. And, in 
a government where entire liberty of conscience is 
the chartered right of every citizen, the legislature 
cannot, without invading thaL sacred right, prescribe 
particular forms of religious observance, in which the 
people shall employ themselves while resting from 
ordinary labor, and by which the day shall be kept 
holy, in a positive sense. We, then, reach this point: 
the observance of the Sabbath, as a civil institution, 
should be enforced on community, by the civil authority 
of the country ; because, it comprehends a protection 
of the rights and morals of the governed, which 
the government is bound to afford ; but, the positive 
halloiuing of the day, in the strong sense of that 
excellent Anglo-Saxon word, is a matter without the 
legitimate province of civil jurisdiction ; and, is, of 
right, left to the guidance and government of religious 
13 



-146 



THE SABBATH. 



institutions and influences. Most properly, therefore, 
does the Church, as the guardian of the religious 
interests of community, enforce a religious observance 
of the Sabbath, on all who place themselves under 
her teachings and control. And the co-operative 
action of the civil and the religious power — the secular 
and the moral — are necessary to a proper carrying 
into effect of the letter and spirit of this commandment. 
For, though the .Church may rightfully prohibit, to 
her members, such violations of the Sabbath as would 
be properly cognizable by the civil authority, yet, the 
Church has only a moral authority in the premises, 
and that extending only to the conduct of her voluntary 
membership ; hence, as a vast proportion of community 
have not placed themselves under the control and 
laws of the Church, did not the civil arm sustain its 
portion of this burden, the multitude would be under 
no wholesome restraints with regard to it. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE SABBATH—CONTINUED 



More respectable and common forms of violating the Sabbath 
— Sabbath Visiting — Sabbath Feasting — Sabbath Travelling — 
Treating slight diseases on that day — Neglect of children and 
servants — Sabbath sleeping — Sabbath writing — Works of necessity 
and mercy to be done — What they are. 

In these rules, " ordinary work " is forbidden; and 
so are " buying and selling." But, there are also 
other forms of Sabbath desecration, not here specifi- 
cally enumerated; some of which, at least, we shall 
notice. 

First. Sabbath Visiting. 

Many persons make it a habit, to do much, or all, 
their secular visiting on the Sabbath day. Were 
there no Sabbath, they would be compelled to take 
time, from the days of labor, to do this ; as it is, 
they appropriate the Lord's day to that use ; and, 
in all cases where the visiting would be done, at any 
rate, the Sabbath is used for that purpose, as matter 
of economy, and is actually of the same pecuniary 
value to them, as a laboring day; for, one laboring 
day is thus gained by the operation. Nor does the 
evil end here ; in many cases, this time is taken 
from the hours of Sabbath devotion, and the house 
of God is neglected for a social visit, generally 



148 



THE SABBATH. 



assuming a convivial form. A Christian throws his 
family into confusion, and unquiet agitation, on a 
Sabbath morning, to prepare for a visit to the 
country ; by which all the calm seriousness, proper to 
the occasion, is banished. This may be named as 
the first form of Sabbath desecration, growing out 
of his innocent visit. Then, if the busy confusion 
of the morning, should not supercede the family 
devotions entirely, it at least diminishes their reverence 
and profitableness ; and, another evil, is, that the 
public worship of God is neglected for the day. 
Probably, too, horses and carriages are to be • hired 
for the occasion; in doing which, the Christian 
"buys" the services of the vehicle and animals, and 
tempts, and aids the owner in a violation of the 
Sabbath, by " doing ordinary work therein." But, 
suppose he has a conveyance of his own ; it makes 
the matter no better at all ; for, He who has forbidden 
you to work on the Lord's day, has, in the same 
commandment, made it criminal, in you, to withhold 
the rest of the Sabbath from your servants and your 
beasts; and, if you labor not yourself, but require 
ordinary labor of them, you desecrate the day of the 
Lord. 

Again : your friend, in the country, has been notified 
of your coming; and, that he may give you a suitable 
reception, he has declined attendance on the public 
worship of God ; his family is thrown into a most 
unsabbath-like excitement; the servants, instead of 
being permitted to rest, or enjoy the privilege of 
religious worship, are hurrying in all directions, busily 
employed in preparing luxurious viands, to minister 



THE SABBATH. 



149 



to the gratification of your appetite. Here it will 
be seen, that the supposed innocent visit, involves 
a desecration of the Lord's holy day, in numerous 
forms. The spirit of this commandment does not, 
however, prohibit all visiting on the Sabbath ; for, it 
were better, doubtless, when, without public worship 
on that day, or after public worship, if Christians 
would more frequently and freely visit each other, 
than they usually do, to cultivate social Christian 
feeling, converse about important Christian doctrines, 
or duties, or experience, to cheer each other with 
songs of Zion, and like exercises. But, to devise 
plans, and lay trains, in these Sabbath conversa- 
tions, for " buying, selling, and getting gain or, 
to enter into idle conversation, in the spirit of levity 
and irreverence, is contrary to the spirit of the 
command. 

Second. Sabbath Feasting-. 

This evil has been directly alluded to above ; and, 
it may, therefore, be sufficient, here, to add, that a 
habit prevails, to an alarming extent, of making 
the Sabbath a day of 4 'high feeding;" and many 
Christians, who are content to live moderately through 
the week, make it a point to have a more sumptuous 
dinner on that day, than on any other. 

This is clearly wrong: 1st. Because a Christian 
should feed temperately, at all times; and any 
departure from his usual habit, in this regard, tends 
to his injury, in body and mind. 2nd. It gives to 
the object of feeding the body — even to its detriment 
—the time God has appointed for ministering to the 
improvement of the mind, and the cultivation of the 



150 



THE SABBATH. 



moral affections. 3rd. It requires of servants, and 
others, the performance of labor which is not 
necessary on the Lord's day ; thus robbing them 
of rights chartered to them by the Creator, at the 
same time directly transgressing the Divine com- 
mand. 

If Christ found it necessary to reprove the 
hospitable Martha, for her excessive attention to the 
preparation of a frugal repast, for her honored guest, 
what would he say, were he to enter a Christian's 
Sunday dining hall, and witness the hurrying to and 
fro of the servants, and see the table bending beneath 
the smoking viands of a princely banquet, prepared for 
the palates of his Taimble followers, who have but just 
returned from feeding on the bread of the Word; 
and are now, with higher gust, about to luxuriate 
on the good things of this life ! 

To provide a necessary quantity of wholesome food, 
to be used on the Sabbath, is a duty we owe to our 
nature ; and this is classable as a work of necessity ; 
but, far the larger part of this provision for the 
day, can be made before it arrives ; and so it should 
be. If pious females, who take so much delight in 
feasting their friends on the Sabbath, did but know, 
that every enlightened and conscientious minister and 
member of the Church, enjoys that Sabbath-dinner 
best, which has employed the least amount of unne- 
cessary Sabbath labor in its preparation, a much 
larger proportion of Saturday cooking would be 
found on then Sunday dinner tables, than at present. 
May we hope, that all our ministers will unite in a 
determined effort, to put down this great evil ? It 



THE SABBATH. 



151 



can be done ; it should be done ; and let us say, by 
our earnest efforts, it shall be done. 
Third. Travelling. 

Many persons who would not be guilty of Sabbath 
desecration, in the grosser forms, yet, seem to have 
no scruples of conscience about travelling on the 
Lord's day. Some select that day as a suitable 
time for commencing a journey ; when there is no 
more necessity, nor just apology, for so doing, than 
for performing ordinary work at home. But, a larger 
number, so arrange, in making a journey, that they 
shall be on the way during the Sabbath ; and so 
make it equal to any other day, in its business value, 
to them. This is utterly inexcusable; especially, in 
cases where it would not be difficult so to arrange, 
in advance, as to include no Sabbath in the journey. 
There is a method of sanctifying a desecration of 
the Lord's day, which may be noticed. A Christian , 
or, perchance, a minister, is on a journey, and, wishing 
to redeem time, travels, on Sabbath morning, some 
fifteen or twenty miles on his journey, to attend 
public worship; and, then, after service, travels as 
far in the afternoon; especially, if, at the end of a 
good day's journey, he can again attend preaching 
at night. Thus, while he is travelling nearly all the 
day, with the ostensible object of attending religious 
worship, he finds, at night, that, by thus doing, he 
has advanced on his way a full day's journey, and 
s-aved a day for secular uses. 

It is not, to be sure, quite easy to lay down a 
rule, applicable to all cases ; for, Christ himself 
recognized exceptions to general rules of conduct ; 



152 



THE SABBATH. 



hence, it would be difficult to say, that a Christian, 
on a long journey, and by public conveyance, over 
which he has no control, should, under all possible 
circumstances — whether in the wilderness or the city, 
at the low tavern, surrounded with the drunken and 
profane, or in the family of a pious friend — halt, on 
Saturday evening, and remain until Monday. This 
may not be duty, in all possible cases ; yet, certainly, 
when it can be done, consistently with the grand 
design of the Sabbath, and the clear obligations of 
duty, to cease from his journeying, should be the 
course pursued by the Christian, and, especially, the 
Christian minister. But, the decision, in special 
cases, must be left with the enlightened Christian 
conscience. 

Fourth. The habit of selecting the Sabbath, as a 
time for " taking medicine," is sufficiently common 
to call for reprehension. 

A man has been suffering a degree of "indis- 
position," for some three or four days, and is convinced 
of the necessity of medical treatment. He is too 
busy, however, and his time is too precious to admit 
of his ceasing from his vocation, to receive medical 
treatment, until the Sabbath ; but, when this arrives, 
the medicine, or the physician, is promptly sent for, 
and the work of cure is diligently pushed forward, 
that he may be ready to resume his labors on Monday 
morning. 

There are several wrongs in this proceeding, 
innocent as it is supposed, by many Christians, to 
be. 1st. The man cannot spare one of Ms oivn days, 
but has no scruple about appropriating the Lord's 



THE SABBATH. 



153 



day to the use in question. 2nd. It happens, in many 
cases, that the patient, by delaying the treatment of 
his case, to save a clay for himself, and take it 
feloniously from the Lord, brings on a protracted 
illness, and even death ; thus becoming, in a sense, 
his own murderer, through motives of covetousness 
or avarice. 3rd. By the prevalence of this habit, 
physicians are compelled to devote their Sabbaths 
to the care of Sunday patients, instead of being 
permitted to attend on the worship of God. 

Fifth. The neglect of children and servants. 

The man who observes the Sabbath reverently 
himself, but allows his household to violate it with 
impunity, is still, in the spirit of the commandment, 
a Sabbath-breaker ; for, the command, directed to 
the head of the family, embraces children, servants, 
cattle, and even visitors ; he being regarded as the 
representative, or guardian, of the whole ; and, so 
far as his influence and just authority may be rendered 
available, he is held under amenability to God, for 
violations committed by those under his government 
and care. And it is to be feared, that many professors 
of religion are guilty, in this matter. Their children, 
instead of being sent, in the morning, to the Sabbath 
School — that blessed nursery of piety and religious 
knowledge — and then being taken to the house of 
God, under the care of parents or Sabbath School 
teachers, and taught to reverence the public ordi- 
nances of religion, are permitted to roam at large, 
unrestrained, to mingle in corrupting society, form 
vicious habits, and imbibe principles ruinous to virtue 
and good morals. 



154 



THE SABBATH. 



The servants, instead of being taught at home, by 
the head of the family, or under his (or her) direction, 
the elements of Christian doctrine, and the personal 
and relative duties of religion, and being encouraged 
to attend the preaching of the Word, are turned 
loose, to wander over the city or country; left to 
the guidance and government of lawless passions and 
blind impulses, and to contract habits little less detri- 
mental to the interests of the head of the household, 
than injurious to themselves. To guard against those 
errors and evils, so far as in his power, is an important 
part of the Sabbath duty of every Christian head of 
a family. It is possible, to be sure — but not very 
common — to carry even this to an opposite extreme ; 
and, so rigidly to restrict, and confine, those under 
our care, in a sort of Sabbath imprisonment, as to 
render its duties irksome, and the clay itself a dread 
and abhorrence to the young. This course is apt to 
produce re-action of unhappy character and conse 
quence. This, it appears to us, is not inherent in 
the nature of the institution ; and may, generally, 
if not always, be avoided, by a prudent and judicious 
course of treatment. 

The exercises of the day, should be rather of a 
cheerful, than of a gloomy kind ; and such as shall 
lead, even the young, to call " the Sabbath a delight." 
And this result depends much more on the manner, 
than the matter, of Sabbath instruction. Much of this 
should be in an easy, conversational way, calculated 
to interest the mind, and call its powers into agreeable 
action. Young persons are ever deeply interested in 
personal narrative, and of this kind of composition 



THE SABBATH. 



155 



there is no lack in the Sacred Book ; a right appro- 
priation of which, would blend amusement with solid 
instruction, and, to the young, might be rendered 
rather a pleasure than an irksome task. 

Again: instead of confining children — in whom the 
love of action is so strongly predominant — throughout 
-the entire day, to a single room, to their great 
discontent, it is submitted, as a better plan, to take 
them, at a suitable time in the afternoon, on a 
cheerful walk ; during which, their minds may be 
interested, with suitable remarks on the works of 
God, in nature, which spread all around us ; and 
thus the mind may be led, " through nature, up to 
nature's God." 

These, however, must be regarded but as brief 
hints, thrown out suggestively. But, after all, it 
must be confessed, that there is great difficulty in 
executing this part of a Christian's duty ; and, that 
it is much easier to write, or speak plausibly, on the 
subject, than to practice well those teachings and 
suggestions. 

Sixth. Sabbath Sleeping. 

Another censurable mode of wasting the time of 
the Sabbath, which may be noticed, is, excessive 
indulgence in sleep. Many who habitually rise early, 
when their own concerns are to be attended to, 
indulge, on the Lord's day, in sleep, until a very 
late hour. One effect of this bad habit, is, that 
time is not allowed for the proper performance of 
the morning devotions, and for preparing the children 
of the family for attendance on Sabbath School: 
and no doubt hundreds-— probably thousands— of the 



156 



THE SABBATH. 



children of Christian parents, are kept from the 
instructions and benefits of Sunday School, Sabbath 
after Sabbath, for no other reason, than that their 
parents are too indolent to leave their beds early 
enough to " get the children ready." Nay, such is 
the excess to which this most censurable indulgence 
is, in many cases, carried, that it is only with hurry 
and difficulty, that the family can even get themselves 
ready to attend the services of the house of God. 
And, not satisfied with devoting the precious Sabbath 
morning to enervating slumbers — greatly disqualifying 
for the profitable enjoyment of the religious services 
of the day — these sluggish Christians are wont, after 
partaking intemperately of a rich Sunday dinner, 
again to betake them to their beds, and sleep away 
the afternoon also. Now, to say nothing of the 
reverence due the Sabbath, such a course is at 
variance with the dictates of right reason and human 
philosophy, as directly as with the command of heaven, 
and the principles of religion. It is injurious, in 
breaking in upon the regular habits of rest and rising ; 
it enervates the body ; for, rest or food, taken in 
excess, will produce an effect, the opposite of that 
for which it is designed ; and, perhaps, nothing tends 
more strongly to mental sluggishness and langour, than 
excessive sleep. This untimely indulgence, therefore, 
wholly disqualifies for both the duties and enjoyments 
of the Sabbath, and is otherwise injurious. 

Seventh. Sabbath Writing. 

Some persons who seem to respect the sacredness 
of the Sabbath, in general matters, yet, feel authorized 
to set apart a portion of that clay, for the purpose 



THE SABBATH. 



157 



of writing letters partaking of business character ; so, 
seising upon the Lord's time to do their own work in. 
Some, indeed, take that time to post books, make out 
accounts, and execute other writings necessary in 
their business ; but, as such conduct is a clear violation 
of the civil statute against Sabbath-breaking, we are 
hardly at liberty to accuse professors of religion with 
so gross an infraction of the commandment. That 
which is intended for purposes of religious good, if 
necessary to be written at all, may be lawfully written 
on the Sabbath. It is very proper, and profitable, to 
write memoranda of the religious instructions received 
from the pulpit, reflections and meditations intended 
for religious improvement, and, in brief, whatever is 
in character with the sacredness of the day. 

With regard to works of " necessity and mercy," 
they are admitted, by all, to be lawful on the Sabbath ; 
and, in many, if not in all cases, to be matter of duty. 
But, there is, sometimes, difficulty in defining the 
precise boundary between works which are of this 
character, and such as' are not. Some general sug- 
gestions, however, may be safely made. It is a work 
of mercy, to carry food to the famishing poor, on 
the Sabbath ; but, if it was your duty to have done 
this at an earlier day, and you have delayed until 
the Sabbath, as a matter of convenience to yourself, 
it is still your duty to do it, because the necessities 
of a fellow man call for it; but, little credit will be 
due you for it, as an act of mercy, or for the keeping 
of the Sabbath ; while, to the original neglect of duty, 
in the case, is chargeable the evils which followed. 
It is a work of necessity, if, on the Sabbath, your 



158 



THE SABBATH. 



family are without food, and suffering for it, to 
procure, as best it may be done, the necessary 
supplies ; but, if this destitution be the result of your 
wilful neglect, if you be not a Sabbath-breaker, you 
are no better ; for, if you have created for yourself 
a necessity for doing, on the Sabbath, what should 
have been done before, you only escape the character 
of a Sabbath-breaker, by placing the guilt on the 
precedent act which created the necessity. 

The question presents itself here, what are " works 
of necessity and mercy," and what is the proper 
distinction between the two ? Mercy is the exercise 
of kind offices, in the relief of suffering or distress, 
and, especially, towards objects of unworthy character. 
In this case, it is applied, without regard to the last 
point in the above definition ; and imports, generally, 
relief of suffering, of whatever kind. All cases, 
therefore, of suffering, requiring present relief, are 
proper to be attended to on the Sabbath, whether 
the subject be human or inferior animal. With this 
definition admitted as correct, it would seem that 
works of necessity would comprehend a different 
class of objects ; such as being incapable of suffering, 
cannot be direct objects of merciful action ; such as 
the saving of property from destruction, in cases 
of emergency, that may occur on the Sabbath day, 
as in extinguishing fires, removing property exposed 
to fire or flood, and acts of like character. 

It has been already intimated, that it is the duty 
of the civil power to restrain from gross violations 
of the Sabbath, but not to prescribe employment foi 
the day ; and, that, as men must be employed or. 



THE SABBATH, 



159 



that day, it is the province of religion to prescribe 
its appropriate employment. But, this aspect of the 
subject has been so frequently referred to, incidentally, 
in the preceding remarks, that little need now be 
added. Private prayer, family devotion, reading the 
Word of God, and other good books, attendance 
on the instructions and ordinances of the Church of 
God, meditation, profitable conversation, instructing of 
children and servants, visiting the sick, and relieving 
the distressed ; these are appropriate employments 
of the Christian Sabbath; and the right performance 
of these, will afford to the mind of the Christian a 
richer enjoyment than can be drawn from any other 
appropriation of it, that can be devised or adopted. 



CHAPTER XI. 



INTEMPERANCE. 



Original reading of this rule— Philosophy of intemperance — A social 
vice, and must be controlled by social instrumentalities — Obli- 
gation of temperance men to support temperance organizations 
— A duty to suppress drinking houses ; especially, the more genteel 
ones — Impropriety of the manufacture and sale of spirituous 
liquors. 

" Drunkenness, or drinking spirituous liquors, 
unless in cases of necessity." 

This rule originally read, " Drunkenness, buying 
or selling spirituous liquors, or drinking them, unless 
in cases of extreme necessity;" and it is a matter of 
just gratulation, that the Methodists, more than one 
hundred years ago, occupied the high ground, now 
recently taken by the temperance organizations — the 
ground of " total abstinence." And it is to be 
regretted, that the Church ever consented to relax 
anything of her original stringency on this subject. 

The philosophy of the causes of drunkenness may 
be briefly stated, thus : 1st. An appetite for spirituous 
liquors is not natural to man ; and, therefore, is, 
wherever it exists, artificial or acquired. 2nd. Drunk- 
enness is a social vice, into the habit of which, men 
are drawn by the power of social influences ; and, 
by the force of such habit, the artificial appetite is 



INTEMPERANCE. 



161 



formed and confirmed. Hence, there is, perhaps, 
no instance to be produced, in which an individual 
has contracted the habit of drunkenness, from its 
very beginning, in solitude, or separate from foreign 
influencs operating to lead him in that direction. 
3rd. Artificial appetites, when once contracted, are 
found more uncontrolable, and obstinate, than those 
which are natural ; for the plain reason, that natural 
appetites have natural limits, within which it is much 
less difficult to keep, than to observe moderation in 
the indulgence of an artificial appetite ; which, being 
itself unnatural, has no natural boundaries to be 
limited by. 

Thus, for illustration, a young man is brought under 
the power of social influences, which first attract, then 
excite; and this excitement amounts to a degree of 
mental intoxication, which disarms him of his moral 
defence— a fixed resolve to stand firm in the way 
of duty and safety. Thus disarmed, and mentally 
intoxicated by the charm of company, the splendor 
of the gay saloon, or the bewitching smile of beauty, 
he partakes of the inebriating draught. The barrier 
once passed, and the enemy will meet with less 
resistance, and still less, at each successive assault, 
until a habit of drinking is formed; and he drinks 
from habit, until an unnatural appetite is created, 
and then drinks under the cravings of appetite; that 
appetite is limitless, and its only law is that of 
quenchless, insatiable thirst. Mental excitement at 
first led him to drink ; and, now, having formed the 
habit, and created the appetite, he drinks to produce 
mental excitement. He subsists on preternatural 
14 



162 



INTEMPERANCE. 



excitements, and relies on artificial stimuli to produce 
those excitements. 

And, here it may be remarked, that life is 
sustained by stimuli ; but, while a natural stimulus, 
such as that produced by partaking of nourishing 
food, gives strength and healthful vigor to body 
and mind, an artificial stimulus, of whatever kind, 
excites, or stimulates, preternaturally, and in much 
higher degree than the natural. The good effect 
of the first is permanent, entering, by assimilation, 
into the substance of the system; while that of the 
artificial, reacts on both the mind and body — cannot 
be assimilated into the system, which labors to reject 
it- — and leaves the subject as much below a natural 
standard of feeling and vigor, as it had elevated him 
above it. And, in this fact, is to be perceived, the 
great injury which must, in the nature of the case, 
result from the use of artificial stimulants. And, 
at the same time, it must be obvious, that, where 
artificial stimuli are resorted to, there can be no 
security against excess ; because, there is no natural 
boundary to restrain. The acquired appetite demands 
excitement, and that excitement but inflames the 
appetite to greater demands ; while each attempt to 
meet that enlarged demand, only enlarges it still 
more ; the potation that will afford the desired quantum 
of excitement to-day, must be increased, to produce 
the same effect to-morrow ; and the burning and 
quenchless thirst — like the horse-leach's daughter — 
unceasingly cries, " Give ! Give!" until the hapless 
victim, shorn of his strength, perverted in appetite, 
debased in feeling, and lost to principle, honor, and 



INTEMPERANCE. 



163 



duty, sinks beneath the spoiler's tyranny, wrecked 
and ruined. 

If, then, this most ruinous vice comes of a forced 
appetite, and that appetite is superinduced by the 
power of social influences; if the appetite be so 
insatiable in its cravings, how wise and proper is 
the ground taken in this excellent code-— that of 
total abstinence ; for, short of this point, absolute 
security is not to be found. And, further, in view 
of the premises above, both the best means of guarding 
against the evil, and of effecting a cure — where 
the cases are not absolutely incurable — -are plainly 
suggested. The effects — -preventive and remedial — ■ 
must be directed to the object, of guarding the young 
against the seductive power of those social influences 
calculated to lead them into the dangerous snare. 
There is little danger, that a young man of respectable 
standing and honorable principles, will be drawn, in 
the first instance, into a low tippling house, and 
there be seduced into intemperate habits; because, 
the whole appearance, society, and accompaniments, 
are such as strike his feelings repulsively, and present 
no one attractive feature. There is no social influence 
there, likely to entice him to evil; for, he feels that 
the association would degrade and contaminate. But 5 
let him be invited, by some gentleman of commanding 
influence and position in society, to accompany him 
to the splendid bar, or elegant drinking room, of a 
fashionable hotel or coffee house, where drunkenness 
is never permitted, and only the most gentlemanly 
behaviour is witnessed; and, while there is much to 
attract, he perceives nothing repulsive— nothing of 



164 



INTEMPERANCE. 



danger-— and partakes, without scruple, and without 
fear ; not from a desire to drink, for that he has not ; 
but, from a disposition to comply with what appears 
but a kind, a generous request, of gentlemen, in 
whose company he might, very naturally, consider it 
an honor to be associated. 

The acceptance, on his part, of such courtesy, 
demands of him its reciprocation; and a sense of 
honor, and not inclination, induces him to give the 
like invitation to those from whom he has received 
such civility ; and, thus early, he becomes a leader 
of others to the gate of ruin, himself unconscious, 
yet, that its glittering portals open and gild the 
entrance to the " sides of the pit." 

Or, let the moral young man attend a convivial 
party, say, at the house of a gentleman of first 
respectability ; he goes, of course, with a sense of 
most perfect safety ; how could it be otherwise ? 
He goes to the house of an upright and honorable 
gentleman— -perhaps a Christian — and into the society 
of cultivated and virtuous females ; what can he have 
to fear ? Were he in society of questionable character, 
that fact would arm him against danger ; but, there, 
he is olf his guard, and his unsuspecting heart is 
thrown freely open to the pervading influences of the 
place and the occasion; for, he feels that he is safe, 
and posts out no sentinels. But, mark the result: 
the laugh of mirth, the flash of wit, the smile of 
beauty, the inspiration of music, the general gaiety, 
the universal excitement ; these have gradually, and 
insensibly, thrown their influences over him, and so 
gently, so charmingly, that he could not possibly 



INTEMPERANCE, 



165 



suspect anything of evil present. He is fully baptized 
into the spirit of the gay scene ; he has inhaled a 
gaseous inspiration, until a sweet delirium has pleas- 
ingly bewildered his soul, and obscured his moral 
perceptions. In the midst of this delicious intoxication 
of the heart, he is approached by a fair angel of 
earth — as he can, just then, readily believe her — who, 
with charming grace and blandest smile, presents 
him _ the wine cup, and asks that he will partake. 
Her own lip is more deeply rubied by its tint ; 
and how can he refuse? The wine sparkles more 
temptingly in the light of her sparkling eye and wit, 
and his capitulation is unconditional and instantaneous. 
The mind was intoxicated before the inebriating bowl 
began its work, and the chances are, that, on that 
occasion, he will make rapid advances in the road 
to ruin, and will soon become fairly matriculated in 
habits leading to confirmed intemperance. 

If this be not the literal history of a large proportion 
of those who have descended, by the road of drunk- 
enness, to infamy and ruin, it at least exhibits the 
elements, whose operation, in forms more or less 
diversified, work out those fearful results, in most 
cases, if not in all. To guard, then, against the 
ravages of intemperance, in the young and exposed, 
every possible care should be taken, to prevent the 
fatal action of the pernicious social influences adverted 
to. This work should begin in the family, in the form 
of social organization first presented to the child's 
attention; and there the child should never see any 
indulgence in the use of intoxicating drinks, which 
would lead the untaught mind to infer the innocence 



166 



INTEMPERANCE. 



of their use. Children believe, until convinced, 
reluctantly, to the contrary, that all the parent 
does is * entirely right, and may be imitated with 
perfect safety. Hence, thousands have been led into 
drunkenness, by the example of parents, who used 
intoxicating drinks, as a beverage, but who, them- 
selves, were never intoxicated. 

You may believe, that you can indulge, habitually, 
and, yet, without danger ; yet, if even this were 
admitted, it is still your sacred duty, to make the 
sacrifice of abstinence, on the altar of your son's 
salvation from ruin ; for, unless you do so, you have 
not, and cannot have, the least security, that, some 
years hence, a bloated, beastialized son, will not 
point to the temperate drinking of his father, as the 
first impelling influence which gave a downward 
direction towards the deep infamy and degradation 
from which he shall look back, and bitterly curse a 
religious parent's example, as the instrument of his 
destruction. And religious parents who contend for 
moderate drinking, and practice it, will merit the 
terrible retribution of fallen and besotted sons : for, 
they act as if they sought such a result ; and, alas, 
but too surely is this terrible infliction often visited 
upon them. 

The usage has been, as social influences are 
strengthened and multiplied, in any given case, to 
increase the use of artificial stimulants in like pro- 
portion: and, in accordance with this absurd theory, 
is the custom still in some places, and with some 
persons. Hence, the man who performs his solitary 
labor, without the aid of spirits, or once thinking 



INTEMPERANCE. 



167 



of them as necessary, would not attempt to have 
a "corn husking," a "house raising," a "harvesting," 
or the like, which brings together a number of persons, 
without providing for the occasion, some kind of 
intoxicating drink. Herein the laws of a sound 
philosophy are directly contravened; for, while there 
can be no more necessity for this beverage, in a 
large company, than in solitary labor, the danger 
of excessive indulgence is increased very much in 
the proportion of numbers. So, the family, that 
has no use for intoxicating beverages, on ordinary 
occasions, would feel quite scandalized to have a 
wedding, or a "party," without a suitable supply 
of wines, brandies, and the rest. If we look to 
complete sobriety in the country, as an object to be 
labored for, these improprieties must be abandoned ; 
and, especially, must every Christian set his face, 
like flint, against even the moderate use of spirits, 
and particularly against their use, in circumstances 
where social influences combine to strengthen our 
enemy, and, therefore, render the measure more 
dangerous. 

A very important part of this duty, is, to employ 
all lawful efforts for the suppression of houses for 
retailing intoxicating drinks, and, above all, those 
of the respectable and fashionable sort. Many men 
may be found, who are quite ready to join in a 
spirited crusade against low tippling houses, kept by 
ruffians, and patronized by the abandoned and vulgar, 
who will, with equal spirit, resist any attempt to 
curtail the privileges of the elegant coffee house, or 
fashionable drinking saloon, under an impression, that 



168 



INTEMPERANCE. 



the former, and not the latter, are doing all the 
mischief in society — making all the drunkards. 

This is utterly a mistake ; few, if any drunkards, 
are " manufactured from the raw material" at the 
low grog-shops. True, when they become either too 
poor, or too degraded, for the higher circles of 
respectable drunkenness, they are kicked out of the 
fashionable drinking house, where gentlemen only are 
allowed to get drunk, in a decent and respectable 
way; and then they are advanced, by a regular 
graduation, to a place among drunkards, at a filthy 
dram-shop. But, in point of fact, one fashionable 
bar will be found to matriculate more "freshmen" 
into the school of drunkenness, than ten of the most 
loathsome grog-shops to be found. Your son may 
visit the latter, and, not improbably, his sense of 
moral propriety and common decency would be so 
shocked, as to produce disgust and loathing ; but, 
in the other case, the inviting elegance of the 
establishment, the gentility of the company, and the 
whole assemblage of circumstances, would be likely 
to exert an attractive influence over the youthful 
mind, well calculated to bewilder and lead astray. 
Christians, patriots, and lovers of order and morality, 
owe it to the Church and the world, to the present 
generation and those future, to make a determined 
effort, to guard against the spread of this alarming 
evil. 

So much for the proper means of preventing 
intemperance ; and, for the means of remedy, or 
cure, we must look to the same elementary principles. 
If intemperance be a social vice — that is, dependent 



INTEMPERANCE. 



109 



on social influences for its production— then, the only 
effectual remedy must be sought in social influences 
of a counteracting character. The influence, direct 
and mediate, of other men, has operated to drag the 
victim down from his proper place in society, and 
the influence of others must be employed, for his 
elevation to his lost position. 

In this view of the subject, all organizations which 
tend to embody public sentiment against the evil 
of intemperance, and, at the same time, aid and 
encourage the victim, in his effort to recover from 
the snare of the enemy, ought to be liberally encour- 
aged. Temperance organizations have done much 
good, both in protecting against danger, and in 
restoring the fallen; and, whatever apparent force 
there may seem to be, in the objections commonly 
urged against them, none can avail to excuse a 
Christian, or patriot, from co-operating, if he believes 
that, in so doing, he can do good to himself or 
others. 

The cause, in organic form, has suffered much, from 
the standing aloof of many who take their stand, on 
the plea, that, being themselves entirely temperate, 
they have no need to protect themselves by a public 
pledge ; and, that, in signing one, they would seem 
to acknowledge their inability to live soberly without 
that aid, and would classify themselves with the 
intemperate, or, at least, with reformed drunkards, 
which they are unwilling to do. 

To this argument it may be sufficient to reply : — 
1st. That the absolute safety of any man, who 
allows himself to indulge in intoxicating drinks, 
15 



170 



INTEMPERANCE. 



however moderately, must be looked on as a ques- 
tionable matter. 

But, 2nd. Suppose his own safety does not 
require the measure, perhaps that of his family 
does ; for, children, finding their parents in that 
habit, infer that it is right ; and, not having discern- 
ment to discriminate between the moderate and 
immoderate use of the article, (and, indeed, few, 
if any, have,) they are easily led to pass over the 
limits of moderation, far enough to form an appetite 
for alcohol, and then the case is well nigh desperate. 
And, indeed, it is difficult to conceive of a more 
certain and effectual mode of making drunkards, 
than that of some temperate men and professors of 
religion, in attempting to cast odium on temperance 
movements, by way of protecting themselves in their 
course of refusing their co-operation. 

3rd. One grand object of these organizations, is, 
to lead the fallen back to virtue and temperance ; and 
this cannot be done, unless the lost can be induced 
to feel the sentiment of self-respect, which is not to 
be effected by putting them off from the respectable 
portion of society, into a class composed, exclusively, 
of " reformed drunkards.' ' This would be, to mark 
them as a distinct, and, in some degree, odious caste, 
unfit to be associated with any other class ; or, at 
best, doing quarantine duty, until it shall be proved 
that they have become disinfected of their moral 
leprosy. When, however, upon a pledge of deter- 
mination to reform, they are incorporated with a 
respectable organization, comprehending the best, most 
temperate, and honorable members of the community, 



INTEMPERANCE. 171 

they feel that they are not friendless and outcast, 
and an ennobling feeling of self-respect is the effect. 
How much concern, then, has he, for the reformation 
of the intemperate, and the well-being of society, 
who regards his morning dram, his brandy at dinner, 
or his glass of wine, too great a sacrifice to be made 
for the recovery of the fallen, and the good of his 
species ? And, yet, it is but too probable, that there 
are Church-members, and professors of the religion 
of Christ, in this unenviable category. 

As to the manufacture and sale of intoxicating 
liquors, by professors of religion, it is certainly out 
of character, and, at once, calculated to bring odium 
on religion, and to strengthen the cause of intem- 
perance. There are many persons, not professing 
religion, who are conscientiously opposed to such 
conduct ; and, when men say, "I am not a professor 
of religion; but, I would not be guilty of what your 
Church-members do," then is Christ's cause wounded, 
in the house of his professed friends. 

So, again, when the grog-shop keeper is admon- 
ished of the impropriety and injurious effects of 
his calling, he feels himself mailed, in stronger than 
steel armor, when he can say, " Professors of religion 
make it, and professors of religion sell it to me, at 
wholesale ; but I, being too poor to deal in it, on 
so large a scale, only sell, in smaller quantities, to 
others, what your good Church-members have sold 
to me." 

Now, suppose it were admitted, that the acts in 
question are not positively unlawful, in the light 
of God's Word; yet, certainly they are highly 



172 



INTEMPERANCE. 



" inexpedient," as being calculated to bring dishonor 
on the holy religion of the Lord Jesus. And, if the 
honor of God, and the interests of man, demand 
the sacrifice, where is the friend of the Saviour 
who will refuse to offer the oblation on the altar 
of duty? 



CHAPTER XII. 
SLAVERY. 



Mr. Wesley made no rale on the subject — This rale first appeared 
in the Discipline of 1789— original form of it— By whom 
enacted? Not by General or Annual Conference, proved — not 
by the Council, clearly proved — It was introduced by the Bishops 
— It referred to the African Slave Trade — proved by seven 
arguments — Objection concerning Bishops' Notes answered — Wick- 
edness of the African Slave Trade — opposition of Southern States 
to it — Early rules of the r Methodist Episcopal Church found 
impracticable — Duty to submit to the laws, in matters of civil 
relation — Examples of Christ and Apostles. 

" The buying and selling of men, women, and 
children, with an intention to enslave them." 

Here we encounter a subject of great difficulty 
and delicacy, in the treatment of which, it is not 
easy to do good, nor even to avoid doing injury. 
Mr. Wesley, in his General Rules, makes no reference 
to the question, though slavery existed, at that time, 
in. many provinces of the British Empire, including 
the American Colonies. And, indeed, in this, he but 
followed the example of the Saviour, who found 
slavery a civil and social institution, existing, exten- 
sively, in the Roman Empire; but gave no precept, 
no approbation, no prohibition, directly, on the subject ; 
but left it to the civil power, and the action of moral 
principles inculcated by him. 



174 



SLAVERY. 



We have said, Mr. Wesley gave his societies no 
rule on the subject of slavery ; how, then, conies 
this rule to be incorporated with those of Mr. Wesley ? 
This question cannot be answered with certain 
accuracy; yet, what is known, shall be presented 
to the reader. This item first appeared among the 
General Rules, in the Discipline of 1789, and it 
then read, " The buying, or selling, the bodies and 
souls of men, women, or children, with an intention 
to enslave them." In 1792, the words, " the bodies 
and souls," were omitted ; and, since 1808, the rule 
has stood as at present. 

But, by whom it was introduced, is not matter 
of record ; and must, at this distance of time, be 
disposed of, rather by weighing probabilities, than by 
any certain evidence. It is certainly known, that 
it was not done by the action of any Conference ; 
for, prior to 1792, there had been but one General 
Conference — that of 1784, and that a mere assembly 
of unordained preachers — and the Annual Conferences 
never had this rule before them for action. It is, 
therefore, evident, that it was introduced, either by 
the Bishops' Council — a body which had met but 
twice — or by the Bishops alone. 

A presumption has been raised in favor of the 
supposition, that the Council adopted this rule, from 
the fact, that the first meeting of that body was held 
in that year, (1789.) But, this, to us, appears a 
groundless presumption; because, 1st. The Council 
had no power to enact, but only to propose laws, 
to the Annual Conferences, which those Conferences 
must first concur in, before they could take eflect; and, 



SLAVER!". 



175 



as this rule was never submitted to those Conferences, 
the conclusion is necessary, that it was not the act 
of the Council 2nd. Mr. Lee, in his History of 
Methodism, gives us the minutes of the acts of that 
Council, in full; and, in those minutes, there is no 
notice of this rule ; therefore, it could not have 
been adopted by that body. 3rd. The meeting of 
the Council was held, December 1st, 1789 ; and 
the edition of the Discipline, in which this rule 
first appeared, bears date, " 1789 and it is very 
improbable, that the Discipline should have been 
published between the adjournment of the Council 
(say 5th or 6th December,) and the end of the 
same month, which must have been the case, for 
the Discipline to be dated 1789. 4th. We have 
before us, a Discipline of 1789, on the title-page 
of which is- the following writing: " Benjamin Blunt, 
His Book, bought October 30th, 1789; price 3s." 
This settles the question, that Mr. Blunt purchased 
the Discipline of 1789, more than a month before 
the time at which the Council held its first session.* 
The conclusion, therefore, seems irrevocable, that 
this rule was introduced by the Bishops. And 
this opinion receives support, from the following 
circumstances :■— 

The stringent rule of 1784 stood permanently 
suspended, leaving nothing in the Discipline on 



* On a closer inspection of this Discipline, we find the 
Preface dated, "Charles Town, March 20th, 1789," and 
signed, "Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury," This^ effectually 
and finally, settles the controversy. 



176 



SLAVERY. 



slavery, or the slave trade ; the Bishops were, then, 
for the first time, about to publish the General 
Rules in the Discipline ; and, as the government had 
taken action on the general subject, the Bishops 
seem to have thought it expedient, that the Discipline 
should not go abroad, without any thing at all 
bearing on the subject; and, therefore, added this 
rule, which the next General Conference, of 1792, 
slightly modified and retained. So much for the 
history of this rule, which has been more generally 
approved,, and much longer retained, than any 
other ever enacted by the Church on this general 
subject. 

We next inquire into the immediate object, and 
legitimate meaning of the rule. The civil power of 
the country, then recently organized as a constitu- 
tional Republic, had, just before this time, enacted, 
in the organic law of the government, virtually, that 
the traffic between this country and Africa— which 
had long existed, and by which " men, women, and 
children," were bought and sold, "for the purpose 
of enslaving them" in this country —should cease at 
a given period. In this state of affairs, it was thought 
expedient, by the Episcopacy, to take such action as 
would be a suitable response of the Church, to the 
action of the newly constituted government on this 
important subject. And when the great zeal of the 
Episcopacy, with regard t to the whole subject of 
slavery, is considered, it seems very probable, that 
it would not willingly be behind the civil government, 
in a disapproval of the African slave trade, or be 
backward in expressing the Church's approval and 



SLAVERY. 



177 



co-operation in the a-ction of the state, for the 
suppression of that nefarious traffic. 

The rule has been made to apply to buying and 
selhng " men, women, and children," who are already 
in slavery, as slavery is practiced in this country ; 
but, that the rule originally referred, specifically, to 
the African slave trade, appears quite clear, and for 
the following reasons : — 

First. The sense of the language requires this 
construction. 

To say that the drunkard is a slave to his 
appetite, is correct enough ; but, to say of the man 
who gives to a confirmed drunkard the means of 
continuing in his drunkenness, that he " enslaves " 
him to that vice, is incorrect; because, a slave 
cannot be enslaved — that is, made a slave — for this 
embraces the idea of previous freedom. A slave is 
not enslaved by the continuance of this slavery, no 
more than a captive can be captured by a simple 
continuation of his captivity. The prefix en, means 
to make, or to do : so we ensnare what was out of 
the snare ; entomb what was before not in the tomb ; 
enliven what before was lifeless or dull; ensure what 
was uncertain, and so the rest. 

Second. The subject of domestic slavery, as it 
exists in this country, has been acted on, and spoken 
of in various aspects, by the Church authorities, 
very frequently — not less than twenty times — and, in 
some instances, at much length ; yet, the term enslave 
is never used officially, except in this instance: and 
but once beside, at all ; and, in that case, (the 
Bishops' sub-note on this General Rule) it is employed 



1Tb 



SLAVERY. 



to signify taking from slaves freedom of conscience, 
and the privilege of worshipping God, which belong, 
inherently, to human nature, as well in bodily slavery 
as in a state of freedom. " "We must give credit," 
say the Bishops, " to the multitude who do not 
enslave the minds of their servants, but allow them 
full liberty to attend the preaching of the gospel, 
wherever they think they can be most benefitted." 
So, that, in the only cases in which the term is 
used officially, or semi-officially. it clearly means, 
reducing to slavery; in one case, of the body, in 
the other, of the mind. 

Third. The character of the previous legislation 
of the Church, conclusively proves the same thing. 

In 1780. the Conference took action on the subject, 
in which they said. li We pass our disapprobation 
on all our friends who keep slaves, and advise their 
freedom." In 1783, local preachers, who held slaves, 
were threatened with suspension, unless they gave 
freedom to their slaves. In the very stringent action 
of the Conference of 1784, it was not only provided 
that those who held slaves should emancipate them, 
where the laws should permit, but ordained, that 
" those who buy or sell slaves, or give them away — 
unless they buy them on purpose to free them — are to 
be immediately expelled." This enactment, no doubt 
brought about by Dr. Coke, it was soon found, could 
not be enforced; and, accordingly, at the next 
Conference, (May, 1785.) only six months after the 
passage of the rule, its action was suspended, and 
never again revived. The suspending action of the 
Conference of 1785, distinctly embraces ' %% the minutes 



SLAVERY. 



179 



on slavery;" and, of course, by fair construction, the 
part respecting " buying and selling." This affords 
evidence, that the General Rule, adopted some five 
years afterwards, did not refer to the same point ; for, 
if the rule of 1784 was not suspended, then, there was 
a most stringent law of the Church, in force, at that 
time, against buying and selling slaves ; and, it cannot 
be credited, that, with such a law already in force, 
the Bishops would take it upon themselves to enact 
another law on the same subject, without the co-opera- 
tion of the Conferences ; and, especially, a law, more 
or less in conflict with the existing one. And, if 
that law, (of 1781) was, at the time, actually 
suspended, can it be supposed, that the Bishops, 
without the Conferences, would enact a law against 
buying and selling, when that enacted by the only 
General Conference, that had, then, ever met, could 
not be enforced, and had to be suspended in six 
months ? 

Fourth. The language of the Bishops' notes, on 
this General Rule, are to the same point. They 
style the rule "a small addition, which the circum- 
stances of the States required" What special 
" circumstances of the States " can be alluded to, 
as "requiring this small addition" to the General 
Rules ? Not the Declaration of Independence ; for 
this had preceded the offensive action of 1784, by 
eight years. It must have been the prospective 
prohibition of the slave trade with Africa. 

Fifth. After the introduction of this rule, the 
General Conference enacted a law, on the subject 
of buying and selling slaves, in the common meaning 



180 



SLAVERY. 



of the phrase ; which, however, a subsequent General 
Conference repealed. Why this legislation, if the 
general rule covered the subject? Or, if something 
fuller was needed, in addition to the rule, why was 
that additional law repealed ? If the general rule 
covered the case, at the time of the repeal, it did 
at the time of enactment ; and, if it did not meet 
the case of ordinary buying and selling, at the 
enactment, it did not at the repeal. Consistency 
seems, therefore, to demand the construction above. 

Sixth. Many years after the rule was introduced, 
and, after it had become a part of the constitution 
-of the Church, by the action of the General Conference 
of 1808, a law was enacted in the words following: 
" The General Conference authorizes each Annual 
Conference, to form their own regulations relative to 
buying slaves." Now, if the "buying and selling" 
here named, be the same intended in the General 
Rule, then, while the constitution made buying and 
selling slaves criminal, and prescribed the mode 
of treatment and penalty, the General Conference 
authorized the Annual Conferences to adopt " their 
own regulations" on the subject; and so authorized 
them to pass acts contrary to the constitution. 

Seventh. In all the explanatory and declaratory 
acts of the General Conference, not one makes any 
allusion to this rule, as applying to the domestic 
purchase and sale of slaves. And, though the 
Church has found all other laws on the subject 
impracticable, and has been constrained to repeal 
them — showing, conclusively, that this rule was not 
regarded as occupying common ground with those 



SLAVERY. 



181 



other laws — it has never been proposed to repeal 
this, for any such reason. 

Eighth. Mr. Lee, who well understood the subject, 
says, in his History, (p. 102,) that, at the General 
Conference of 1808, 64 The greater part of the rule 
about slavery was abolished, and no part of it 
was retained, respecting private members. The part 
retained in our Discipline, only relates, at present, 
to our travelling preachers, and to such other persons 
as are to be brought forward to official stations in 
our Church." Now, this statement of our early 
and faithful historian, cannot be true, unless the 
construction given above, of this general rule, be 
the correct one ; for, the connection of his remarks, 
will show, conclusively, that, in speaking of the " rule 
about slavery," his allusion is specially to the matter 
of buying and selling. 

It is said, however, that, as the Bishops, who are 
supposed to have originated this rule, have, in their 
notes on it, introduced the subject of slavery broadly, 
that they must have understood it in a sense of 
larger latitude, than that we have allowed to it. 
To this, we respond: 1st. That, as the Bishops saw 
proper to make no note, whatever, on the Section on 
Slavery, in the Discipline of 1796, this was found 
the only other point, at which any notes on the 
subject, could, with any semblance of propriety, be 
introduced. 2nd. The Bishops, in their notes on 
the place, say not a word about the domestic slave 
trade, or buying and selling slaves at all. 3rd. They 
make it the occasion, for urging on masters the duty 
of providing for the religious instruction of their 



182 



SLAVERY. 



slaves; and, of commending those who do, and 
condemning those who do not, as guilty of enslaving 
the mind. 

Now, whatever else the rule implies, it certainly 
does not, in itself, contain any precept on the 
important subject, of the duty of masters to give 
religious instruction to their slaves. Hence, we see, 
that the introduction of the general subject in the 
rule, is made the occasion, by the Bishops, of 
offering such general remarks on the subject of 
slavery, and the duties growing out of the relation, 
as they judged it expedient to make in their 
notes. 

These remarks are made, not for the purpose of 
evading the rule, but of ascertaining its true origin 
and import. 

For many years, we have had no law of the 
Church applying to ordinary dealings in slaves, and 
probably it had been better, that we never should 
have had any such. Not that we are disposed to 
encourage that traffic, but the reverse — and the 
reverse is generally true, among Southern Christians 
— but, because it is impossible to regulate this 
matter by ecclesiastical action ; for it involves a 
civil relation, with which the Church cannot safely 
intermeddle. 

That the capturing of the African, by violence, 
in his own country, and without offence, on his part, 
and enslaving him in a foreign land, was prompted 
by a lawless lust of gain, and was a flagrant violation 
of the common rights of human nature, is conceded 
by all, excepting only a few visionaries, who pretend 



SLAVERY. 



183 



to find, in his complexion, and slight peculiarities in 
his conformation, evidence, not only of his inferiority 
to the other races, but of his original destination 
to servitude and bondage ; but, as this theory is at 
variance, alike with common sense, sound philosophy, 
and the sacred Scriptures, and finds as little favor 
with the intelligent of the South as the North, it is 
not necessary to give it any other attention, than 
utterly to disclaim it as a doctrine of the South. 
And, that slavery in the United States — the fruit 
of the original wrong-doing just now referred to, is 
" a great evil" — as it is expressed in our Discipline — 
is a sentiment that meets a ready response in nearly 
all Southern hearts. Politically, it is an evil: its 
tendencies are to social evil, and, in many instances 
and respects, to moral evil. But, to "say that it is, 
necessarily, in itself, a moral evil — that is, sinful 
in those involved in it — is certainly going much 
too far. 

Slavery was introduced into this country, during 
its colonial subjection to Great Britain; and it was 
done, not by our colonial government, but by the 
supreme authority of the British Crown, and against 
the earnest and oft-repeated remonstrances of the 
Colonies, and particularly of Virginia, whose Legis- 
lature remonstrated against it, probably, more than 
twenty times. In the Northern States, slave labor 
was early found to be unprofitable; and slavery was, 
consequently, transferred Southward; but, so long 
as the slave trade was not a high penal offence 
against the laws of the land, Northern capital and 
enterprize continued to be actively embarked in the 



184 



SLAVERY. 



importation of slaves from Africa into the Southern 
States. Now, the traffic is interdicted by law ; and 
its permanent fruits, and more immediate evils, have 
fallen to the South, while its profits have been 
made the inheritance of the North. With what 
justice, then, can the North denounce the South, 
for tolerating a state of things against which the 
South protested, and which the North actively aided, 
if not to introduce, at least to strengthen, and 
render permanent ? 

But, the evil is among us, and not by the will, 
or action, of the present generation, North or South ; 
and the important question is, what is our duty 
in relation to this subject, as Christian Churches 
and individual Christians? The answer from the 
abolitionists of the "North, is, " Denounce it, in all 
its forms, as sin, and withdraw Christian fellowship 
from all slaveholders." This may do for declamation, 
to inflame one portion of our country against another ; 
but is not reasonable, practicable, nor in accordance 
with Apostolic example. Our own Church com- 
menced, early, a very stringent course of action on 
this subject, but was compelled to abandon it, because 
it was utterly impracticable, and tended to bring the 
Church into conflict with the civil authorities of the 
country. True, in her most stringent rules, she 
always made exceptions of the cases wherein the 
laws of the States did not permit emancipation ; 
yet, the agitation of the subject, the denouncing, in 
strong terms, what the States did not believe it 
possible to rid themselves of, and like measures, 
tended to awaken jealousies on the part of civil 



SLAVERY. 



185 



rulers, and cut us off from access to master and 
slave, and, so, greatly to curtail our usefulness in 
that large field of labor. 

It has, to be sure, been said, and often repeated, 
that the laws of the States do not require men to 
become slaveholders ; and, therefore, for the Church 
to forbid their becoming such, cannot, in any manner, 
conflict with the civil laws. But, this is an unfair 
statement of the case ; men are daily made owners 
of slaves, without their consent — by inheritance, by 
bequest, &c, and some of the States, as Georgia, 
deeming the emancipation of slaves, among them, 
injurious to society, and not beneficial to the subjects, 
have enacted laws against emancipation, and made 
the act penal. Now, though the law does not 
enjoin, that a man shall become a slaveholder, yet, 
its action, in innumerable instances, does make him 
such ; and, when the relation is established, it makes 
it penal in him to attempt its dissolution. 

Now, in the matter of a civil relation, it cannot 
be a Christian's duty to resist civil authority, in 
obedience to an ecclesiastical behest on the same 
subject. This is Papal doctrine. Such was not 
the example set us by Jesus Christ: he may have 
looked upon the abstract right of the Roman Emperor, 
to exact tribute from Israel, as without any founda- 
tion in justice ; yet, when called on, in obedience to 
the law under which he lived, to pay the exaction, 
he scrupled not to do it, and to work a miracle to 
raise the money. So, too, he found slavery in that 
Empire, in its severest form; a form, in which the 
master might take the life of the slave, without 
16 



186 



SLAVERY . 



legal censure ; yet, instead of harshly and bitterly- 
denouncing the relation as criminal, he touches it 
not in its distinctive character, civil or moral; but, 
both he and his Apostles lay down the great principles 
of moral conduct, governing all the relations of life 
and society, and leave these to work out their own 
legitimate results, on the hearts and lives of all. 
The relation, as it involves moral obligations, is 
freely treated, and the duties of master and servant 
are plainly laid down, and strictly enforced. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
SLAVERY — CONTINUED, 



Church legislation not advisable ; the example of Christ and his 
Apostles preferable — Difficulties of Emancipation — This is not 
the whole duty of the master, and may be even wrong — Duty 
of master respecting religious training of slaves — to make them 
a part of his household, in religious matters — Case where they 
are too numerous for this arrangement — where slaves are on 
a distant estate — master bound to provide a good and faithful 
manager — Duty to employ a missionary — Importance of the 
missionary work — Suggestions as to the manner of its successful 
performance. 

With regard to Church action, on the subject 
of slavery, it can hardly be doubted, that, had 
we, following Christ and the primitive Church, in 
earnestly and constantly urging attention to the 
duties growing out of it, on servants and masters, 
without attempting any legislation on the civil relation 
itself, it had been much better for all concerned. 
True, we might, with all propriety, adopt a rule, like 
the one we are now considering, against enslaving 
human beings — because, that is " man-stealing," 
against which the New Testament bears testimony 
— and such a rule may be safely followed by any 
Christian Church ; but, this is wholly different from 
an attempt to control a civil relation, which neither 
the Church nor our government created, nor have 
they been able to see any way of dissolving it. 



188 



SLAVERY. 



It is easy to denounce and condemn, but more 
difficult to provide a remedy for the evil complained 
of. A very large proportion of the slave-owners 
of the South have become such, without any act of 
their own to that end ; and, if the simple holding 
of slaves be sin, how are they to become " free from 
sin?" If you say, "By emancipation/ y the answer 
is, that, in some of the States this is positively 
prohibited ; and, in others, is so embarrassed by the 
disabilities of the emancipated slave, and liabilities 
of the master, as to amount to a moral prohibition. 
Is it said, these may be evaded by sending the 
slaves to a "free State?" Yet, this is attended 
with serious difficulties. The master may be unable 
to sustain the expense; but, if otherwise, in sending 
his slaves to a distant State, he must, in nearly all 
cases, break up the relation of husband and wife, 
and separate parents from children. Again: slaves 
sent to free States, especially, if there be any 
considerable number together, find no resting place 
for the sole of their foot, and are hunted from place 
to place, with a spirit almost unknown in the South; 
and, in the average of cases, are in much worse 
condition than the slaves of the South. 

But, the main point is this : if a conscientious, 
Christian man, comes into possession of slaves, he 
feels that he is bound to provide for their temporal 
wants ; to protect, as far as possible, the sanctity 
of their domestic relations, and to attend, carefully, 
to their religious instruction and training for heaven. 
These solemn responsibilities are upon him, and he 
is bound, in good conscience, to meet and fulfil 



SLAVERY. 



189 



them. Who, in the " free States," will take from him 
a transfer of these serious obligations ? Providence 
has made him the guardian of those poor Africans, 
and he dare not shrink from the unwelcome respon- 
sibility, until his wards be properly provided for — 
temporally and spiritually- — without his care. To 
turn them loose on society, without the restraints 
of bondmen, or the motives and privileges of freemen, 
is a short method of disposing of the difficulty, and, 
in many instances, a cheap one, compared with the 
opposite course ; but, in many cases, an enlightened 
and tender conscience cannot feel quit of its burden 
of duty, by such a course. It is the duty of the 
owner, not to allow his slaves to pass from under 
his control, until he can have reasonable assurances, 
that they will be provided for, as he feels it his 
duty to provide for them. Suppose, for example, 
the infidel wing of abolitionism should propose to a 
Christian slave-owner, to take his charge off his 
hands, and provide for them; could his conscience 
be satisfied, by putting them into the hands of men 
who would teach them to " despise government," 
contemn the Church, the Sabbath, and all the 
ordinances of Christianity ? Surely not. The judge 
of all the earth would hold him answerable for 
such a prostitution of the power put into his hands 
for the benefit of others. 

But, if it is the duty of the master, not to resign 
his control and responsibility, without a suitable 
guaranty, that the duties he owes to his slaves will 
be faithfully met in some other way, he is clearly 
bound, while he holds the relation, to discharge his 



190 x • SLAVERY. 

duty in it, with fidelity and honesty. Many fall 
short in this particular ; and to this point should the 
efforts of Christians, and of the Church, collectively, 
be particularly directed. To provide your servants 
with comfortable clothing, wholesome food, and suitable 
lodging, and not to allow them to be over-worked, 
or deprived of necessary rest ; these are duties of 
the master, to be sure, but such as are also dictated 
by interest and selfish considerations, and only he 
who is blind alike to duty and interest, or grossly 
brutalized in his feelings, can wilfully violate them. 
But, there are duties beside and above these, which 
demand his care. 

And, perhaps, all these may be comprehended, in 
regarding his servants as constituting part and parcel 
of his own family, and to treat them accordingly. It 
was God's high commendation of Abraham, " I know 
him, that he will command his children and his 
household (servants) after him ; and they shall keep 
the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." 
And Joshua's pious resolution, "As for me and 
my house, (entire family) we will serve the Lord," 
has very properly been regarded as a model to be 
followed by all good men, placed in the headship 
of families or households. These pious patriarchs 
evidently placed children and servants in the same 
category, as it regards religious training; and, in 
the Decalogue, the duty of the head of the family 
to keep holy the Sabbath, is not performed by his 
personal obedience to the law alone, but is extended, 
through him, to "his son and his daughter, his man 
servant and his maid servant; and these two classes 



SLAVERY. 



191 



of dependents — children and servants — are placed in 
the same relation to him, as concerning the command- 
ment. So far as practicable, it is his duty to impart 
religious instruction, personally , to his servants. He 
is personally responsible, and should meet as much 
of the duty as practicable, by his own personal 
efforts, and those of his own family; and then call 
to his aid, such other helps as may be within his 
reach. Daily should he call together his children 
and servants, to hear the Word of God, sing his 
praise, and kneel together at a common altar, to 
offer joint devotions to heaven; but, especially, should 
this be done on the Sabbath, and catechetical, and 
general instruction, should be superadded. 

Whenever opportunity offers, servants should be 
encouraged to attend public worship. And a part 
of that encouragement should be, to provide them 
with such decent apparel, as shall not subject 
their feelings to mortification, in appearing in a 
public assembly of worshippers. It is, also, a useful 
measure, to question them freely and plainly, on 
their return from public worship, about the discourse, 
and other religious exercises, and what they have 
not understood fully, explain to them ; what they 
have understood, enforce, affectionately, on their 
minds and consciences. Let your whole course 
convince them, that you are deeply concerned for 
their eternal welfare. It will not do for you to 
release yourself from these duties, on the ground 
that you have a missionary, whose special business 
it is, to attend to the religious concerns of servants; 
his duties are too general, and occasional, to release 



192 



SLAVERY. 



you, and the co-operation of both is necessary to 
the success of this great work. Many Christians, 
it is to be feared, greatly neglect their duties to 
those thus placed under their guardianship ; yet, 
there are many bright and commendable examples 
of an opposite character. Many masters have the 
spiritual care of their servants ever on their hearts, 
as the burden of the Lord, and diligently fulfil the 
onerous task. And, it needs not to be remarked, 
that such ever have the most obedient, agreeable, 
and duteous servants. Into this field of labor — one 
of the most important and promising — many of the 
daughters of the South have entered, with noble 
zeal and glorious success. On each return of the 
Sabbath, dignified matrons, occupying the upper circle 
in society, may be seen, surrounded by a large group 
of dark, cheerful faces ; and the eyes of the servants 
are unto their mistresses for spiritual food, and she 
giveth them their portion in due season. Aye, and 
even young ladies of refinement, high mental culture, 
and large fortune, may be seen, ennobling themselves 
by teaching classes of negro children the way to the 
cross and heaven. How holy and appropriate the 
vocation? Never can a young lady appear to better 
advantage, in the eyes of earth and heaven, than 
when employed in breaking the bread of life to the 
poor; it is then, surely, if ever on earth, that she 
may be regarded as an angel; an angel of mercy 
and comfort to the needy, and such as look up to 
her as their natural guide and helper. Would that 
we could number thousands of such young ladies 
where now we number tens. The cause is good, the 



SLAVERY. 



193 



work important, the reward glorious. Better have 
the " blessing of those who are ready to perish," than 
the hollow adulation of a thousand foplings, or the 
intoxicating admiration of the gay and unthinking. 

It may be difficult, or impracticable, to apply the 
whole of these remarks to cases where servants are 
too numerous to be organized as a common household ; 
yet, the principle is the same in the one case as 
in the other, only, different circumstances call for 
a different mode of bringing the principle into practical 
operation. Where servants on an estate are quite 
numerous, they usually consist of household servants 
—who should be brought under the religious discipline 
of the house— and of laboring, or plantation hands, 
residing, it may be, some distance from the family 
mansion, but usually near to each other. All these, 
if not remote, may be brought under the Sabbath 
arrangements suggested ; and, for the daily religious 
worship, there will, generally, be found among them, 
or on the premises, some pious aged servant, in 
whom the others have confidence, and who would, 
cheerfully, offer up the morning and evening prayer 
in behalf of the whole. 

But, where plantations, employing many servants, 
are situated remote from the proprietor— perhaps in 
a distant State— the case assumes a different phase; 
but, not one that releases the master from any of 
his moral responsibilities to his servants. These rest 
still upon him, and he must meet them according 
to the circumstances. And, first, it is his duty, 
if not under his own inspection, to place them under 
the care of a prudent, kind, firm manager, and, 
17 



194 



SLAVERY. 



if possible, one who is a true Christian. That man 
is his representative ; and if he wilfully appoint one 
who is oppressive, unkind, or who will restrict the 
servants in their religious rights, and set before them 
a demoralizing example, the master is answerable to 
God, for the consequences of the crimes of his agent. 
He is, therefore, bound, in duty and conscience, 
to employ the best man he can procure, for the 
responsible place ; and, if he find himself deceived 
in the character of the man he has appointed his 
agent, duty requires his prompt dismissal. 

Some men seem to estimate the value of a 
manager, by his severity and boisterousness — than 
which, a greater error could not be fallen upon. 
A cruel man can govern only by fear and force, 
and a blustering, boisterous man, cannot govern at 
all. He may scold, threaten, whip, but will be 
neither loved, feared, nor obeyed. The mild, firm, 
quiet man, himself governed always by principle — 
not by gusts of passion — who requires only what is 
reasonable, and makes it a matter of principle and 
conscience, to be obeyed in what he does require, 
will do more by a word, or even a look, than the 
other can effect by whatever means. Observe the 
masters of steamboats and other vessels, and the 
proof of what has been said will at once appear. 
Wherever the master's voice is heard loud, angry, 
and frequent, you find no order, no obedience, no 
efficiency ; but, in the instances in which you have 
to inquire, to find out who the master is — where 
he is seldom heard, and then in a tone firm, but 
unexcited, and only loud enough to be heard by 



SLAVERY. 



195 



the persons addressed- — you may look, with confidence, 
for energy, discipline, and system. 

Where a manager of the proper type — prudent 
and religious — is employed, he will do his duty, both 
to his employer and those under him, from principle ; 
and is worth any possible number of the profane, 
selfish, and irreligious men, sometimes found in the 
management of the property and servants of religious 
men. Such a man, too, will delight in giving religious 
instruction himself, so far as may be in his power, 
to the servants under his care. 

This is one part of an owner's duty, in the case 
stated ; but, another is, to make more direct provision 
for the religious teaching of his laborers, by providing 
for them suitable ministerial attention. This is alike 
matter of duty and interest ; and many proprietors, 
who, themselves, take no direct interest in religious 
matters, yet, from motives of interest, alone, and 
avowedly, have erected places of worship on their 
estates, and employ, at their individual cost, mis- 
sionaries, to instruct their people by preaching, 
catechizing, conversation, prayer, &c. ; and such men 
will tell you, that the money thus laid out, is 
capital most profitably invested ; that the effect is, 
to make the servants more happy, in themselves, 
and more faithful, governable, and useful, to their 
owners. If, then, mere worldly policy prescribes and 
approves the measure, as one of temporal advantage 
and gain, what can be said in defence of the professed 
Christian master, whose religion does not carry him 
as far, in the direction of duty to his servants, as 
motives of naked interest carry the professed worldling 



196 



SLAVERY. 



in the same direction? And are there, indeed, 
such Christians ? It is even to be feared there 
are. Theirs is a fearful responsibility; the worldly 
"wise of this generation, shall arise, in the judgment, 
and condemn them. 

Since we have taken so wide a latitude, in treating 
of this subject, we may yet go a little way farther, 
and say a few words with regard to this missionary 
work just before mentioned. It is a great work, 
and peculiarly devolved, by the Providence of God, 
on the Southern Church generally, and, specially, 
on the Southern Methodist Church. The connexional 
unity of the Church has been severed, avowedly, 
for the religious benefit of the slave population. It 
was because of a belief, that a continuance of the 
former jurisdictional connection would bar the door 
of access to master and slave, and, especially, the 
latter through the former, that we submitted to the 
painful necessity of separation ; and, in consequence 
of this sacrifice in the cause of the slave, doors, 
and arms, and ripened fields, have been thrown open 
to our ministry, all over the South. This broad 
field had, in a great measure, remained uncultivated ; 
and, while we were zealous in sending the gospel 
to the destitute in foreign lands, foreigners pointed, 
with keen reproach, to millions of slaves in our 
own country, either entirely destitute, or imperfectly 
supplied with the means of religious improvement. 
Now the way is open, and God hath given us a 
mighty work to do. Upon this work we have entered, 
with some spirit and zeal, and, we may add, with 
encouraging success ; but, we are yet in our infancy, 



SLAVERY. 



197 



and have nearly every thing to learn, and there is 
great danger that we may err, and even do injury 
where we would do good. 

A few plain suggestions we propose. Whoever 
goes into this work, should feel that it is one 
of the most important, most difficult, and most 
honorable, in which a messenger of Christ can be 
engaged. The idea, that any sort of man will 
do well enough to preach to the blacks, though 
unacceptable to enlightened white congregations, must 
be banished entirely and for ever. It is a false 
opinion; for, many acceptable and useful ministers 
among the whites, are utterly unfit for usefulness 
among the blacks. As few learned men possess the 
rare talent of preaching usefully and intelligibly 
to children, for the same reason few men can so 
address the blacks, as to convey to their minds clear 
apprehensions of gospel truth and Christian duty. 
Plain, but pure and chaste language, should be used ; 
and the preacher should not be satisfied, until he is 
fully understood by his hearers. Here, then, humility 
is required; for the fashion of the times is, to look 
upon that man, only, as a great preacher, who 
employs a style highly embellished with the beauties 
of rhetoric, and the elegancies of diction. For all 
this pompous display, the missionary to the plantations 
has no more use, than his Master had, in preaching 
from his mountain pulpit, or from the fishing boats 
of Gennesaret. He, therefore, especially, must sub- 
scribe to the doctrine, that, at least, in this respect, 
the " Servant is not above his master, nor the 
discipline above his Lord." Any man who looks on 



198 



SLAVERY. 



this work as in any sense ignoble, is utterly 
unworthy a place in it. He that is really worthy 
this high station, will consider " his work honorable 
and glorious," and will cheerfully perform all parts 
of his duty. He will preach the gospel, in simplicity, 
to the poor, catechize young and old, meet their 
classes, baptize their children, visit and pray with 
their sick, bury their dead, bear with, and enlighten 
their ignorance, and be to them a spiritual father, 
a faithful friend, and safe guide. His whole heart 
must be in the work, and the whole work must be 
in his heart. Every prudent measure that promises 
success to his work, he must try; for, we have, 
yet, very much to learn ; and, to be a successful 
missionary to the African, must be his highest 
ambition, his constant aim, and the object of his 
continual prayers. The practical duties of religion 
must be faithfully urged upon the hearts of his 
hearers; and, especially, the peculiar duties of their 
relation, according to the teachings of the Apostle. 
He must be more solicitous to imbue their minds 
with gospel principles and religious truth, and to 
correct their lives by gospel rules, than to arouse 
their excitable passions : nay, it may even be his 
duty to restrain excessive outbursts of feeling, in 
connection with religious exercises ; for, nothing more 
readily brings their religion into contempt, than strong, 
passionate manifestations of religious feeling, unac- 
companied by sobriety of spirit and consistency of 
conduct. Their sincerity is judged of, not by their 
manifestations of feeling, but by the uprightness and 
consistency of their conduct. True, the feelings of 



SLAVERY. 199 

Africans, as well as of other people, are very 
properly interested in the great business of religion ; 
but, the peculiarly excitable temperament of that 
people, renders it important, that excesses of this 
kind be carefully guarded against by the missionary ; 
and, especially, such as are disorderly, and tend to 
the injury of congregational devotion. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
FIGHTING. 



Admitted to be wrong in ordinary cases — Supposed exception? 
considered — Revenge excluded by the law of Christ — Duelling — 
The worst kind of wilful murder — Christians criminal, who 
countenance murderers of this class more than assassins — 
Duelling no proof of a higher than brute courage, and is not 
evidence of even the presence of this — War — Spirit of war 
contrary to that of the Gospel — Attended -oath fewer circum- 
stances of cruelty than formerly — Duty of Christians to obey 
the calls of their country ; but, not to rush, uncalled, to the field 
of battle. 

Fighting. A personal rencontre of one Christian 
with another, or with any other person, for the 
purpose of inflicting bodily injury, or pain, is utterly 
at war with the peaceful spirit of the Gospel ; and 
no Christian can, in good conscience, wilfully enter 
into such a conflict. And, indeed, the correctness 
of the rule, as applicable to ordinary cases, is very 
generally conceded ; but, the difficulty is, in disposing 
of cases claimed to be exceptions to the general 
rule. 

Thus, if a man use irritating language, or apply 
harsh and abusive epithets to you, such as calling 
you liar, thief, or the like, you claim the right to 
inflict on him personal chastisement for the offence. 
But, such revenge is not taught in the precepts or 



FIGHTING. 



201 



example of Christ. He says, " Bless them which 
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully 
use you." And, in his example, " when he was 
reviled, he reviled not again ; when he suffered, he 
threatened not." Such conduct, therefore, has no 
sanction in the precepts or example of our great 
teacher, but seeks its justification in the revengeful 
feelings of the human heart. It is true, that nature 
prompts the human passions to this course ; but, if 
religion has no power to subdue, or restrain, the 
corruptions of our nature, its pretensions are empty, 
and its power impotent. Socrates declared, that, 
by Ms philosophy, he had overcome the strong 
propensities of his nature ; and is the religion of 
the Saviour less effectual to the same end, than 
Pagan philosophy ? 

But, aside from the direct instructions of Christ 
on this subject, the measure is not recommended 
by any advantage, or benefit, it secures to the party 
concerned. Suppose a man call you a ruffian and 
a bully, and you strike him for it, the act rather 
proves the truth, than the falsehood, of his accusation. 
If he call you a liar, does your knocking him down 
prove that you are a man of truth ? No : but simply 
that you are a man of passion — which is oftener the 
enemy than the friend of truth. But, suppose he 
employ offensive epithets, for which you strike him, 
but he being the stronger, or more adroit pugilist, 
gives you a severe beating; and, besides, as the 
aggressive party, you are arraigned, and punished, 
as a violator of the laws of your country ; what a 
gain you have made of it! beaten and bruised in 



202 



FIGHTING. 



person, amersed in a pecuniary fine, disgraced as a 
public offender, and have also brought guilt on your 
conscience, and odium on the Church of Christ. 

But, suppose the other party be the aggressor, 
as it regards the act of personal violence, and should 
first strike you; this presents a different state of the 
case, and affords you legal justification of returning 
the blow ; but, whether a moral justification, is another 
question, and the one which you, as a Christian, 
are bound to consider. You, as a seeker of your 
soul's salvation, are supposed to be governed by the 
law and spirit of Christ; he, as a man of the 
world, is not. If, therefore, you have used irritating 
language, and manifested a violent temper, you have 
lost, thereby, all right of retaliation — even if you 
had such right before — and are not entitled to any 
merit, in not returning violence for violence ; " for, 
if ye be buffetted for your faults, what thank have 
ye ?" And, further, if ye have given no cause of 
offence, yet, before you dare return a blow, you 
must be satisfied that it is required for your personal 
safety Or protection. In a word, if the impulses, 
on your part, be passion, and the object revenge, 
or retaliation, you have no more right to return evil 
for. evil, in that form, than in any other. And, 
if your personal safety clearly require resistance, 
still that resistance must be kept within the limit 
of that object. To punish the insolence, or rashness, 
of the aggressor, is neither your duty nor your 
right. As a civil citizen, this is the business of 
the law; and, as a Christian, your cause belongs 
to God ; for, " Vengeance is mine, I will repay, 



FIGHTING. 



203 



saith the Lord : therefore, if thine enemy hunger, 
feed him," &c. And, indeed, the common law 
of the land only authorizes the employment of so 
much force, or resistance, as is necessary to protect 
against damage or injury. Yet, this principle is 
often departed from, by professed Christians, and 
even ministers of Christ have sometimes given counte- 
nance to such a course. 

A young Christian was assailed with abusive 
language, and, finally, with personal violence. He 
turned upon his adversary, and beat him with 
severity. At the first opportunity, he informed his 
pastor what he had done, and particularly accused 
himself for becoming very angry, and for beating the 
man from anger, much more than was necessary for 
his personal protection, and suggested that the matter 
should be investigated before the Church. The pastor 
replied, that, as the matter stood, it might be neces- 
sary to have an investigation; "but," said he," "if 
you had given the rascal twice as much, I think 
the matter would then have been right, without any 
investigation." The young Christian, notwithstanding 
the minister's effort to lower the standard of gospel 
morality, declared, that no man could make him 
believe that he had done right in indulging violent 
anger, and in inflicting blows on a man, from 
a feeling of revenge ; for, that his conscience, 
taught by God's Word, admonished him that he had 
sinned. 

Duelling. That barbarous mode of fighting, called 
duelling ) it might be supposed, will meet with 
universal condemnation, on the part of Christians ; 



204 



FIGHTING. 



and, vet, soine who make that profession, have shown 
themselves ready, if not to engage in mortal combat 
themselves, at least to countenance it, indirectly, by 
a degree of connivance ; or, at best, by not bearing 
a public, firm, and consistent testimony against it. 
With so large a proportion of professing Christians 
in our coimtry, it is impossible that public opinion 
could be so generally wrong, on this subject, as it 
is, if they all did their duty, faithfully, in the 
matter. 

A man, not of the worst heart, by an unhappy 
concurrence of circumstances, may, hi an unguarded 
moment, take the life of a fellow man. He is 
condemned to the penitentiary, to atone to society 
for his sin; and is loathed, and shunned, by saint 
and sinner, as a murderer, whose touch is contami- 
nation, and whose society, even after he has met the 
demands of the law, would disgrace those claiming 
to be respectable. But, the duellist is the worst of 
wilful murderers. He resolves to commit murder ; 
and, then, for days, or weeks, studies, and practices, 
and contrives, how he may most surely effect his 
barbarous purpose. He accomplishes his bloody 
design ; he has killed a man, who, perhaps, never 
injured him, and has sent him, unprepared, to the 
judgment of God ; has transformed a fond wife 
into a heart-broken widow, and happy children into 
desolate, and, it may be, destitute orphans ; and, 
now, with murdered blood on his hands, and a 
murderer's crime on his soul, the hardened demon 
throws himself back into the bosom of civilized 
and Christian society, and his whole bearing plainly 



FIGHTING. 



205 



indicates a feeling of infernal pride, on account of 
his honorable achievement; and these scandalous 
pretensions are strongly sustained, by the marked 
attention bestowed on him by respectable society, 
and even by professed. Christians, and Christian 
ladies. In the Book of Heaven, he is written down 
a murderer of the deepest dye ; yet, who shuns 
or greets him as such ? Do Christian fathers and 
mothers close their doors against him, and tell him, 
plainly, that a murderer cannot associate in their 
families ? By no means : but, rather, he is courted, 
and caressed, for what should insure him — if not 
a halter, which he deserves more than most who 
gain that distinction — at least, utter exclusion from 
respectable society. Children should be taught to 
take the opposite side of the street, when they see 
him coming ; young ladies should pass him with a 
shudder of horror; and he should be made to feel, 
that the curse and the mark of Cain were burnt 
into his forehead, by the judgment of God, and the 
unanimous suffrages of good society, until he repents, 
as a murderer, and seeks forgiveness of God and 
community. 

But, while Christian people continue to countenance 
the fashionable assassin, the evil cannot be restrained ; 
and, that it is not so restrained, is, doubtless, in a 
great degree, the fault of Christians. But, custom, 
it is said, has long sanctioned duelling, and placed 
it on less criminal, and more honorable ground, than 
common murder; yet, the same is true, or has been 
so, of suicide, patricide, burning widows and children, 
and every other abomination that God hates, and for 



206 



FIGHTING. 



which he will punish the children of disobedience 
Why, then, should this remnant of barbarism be 
honored, and cherished, more than any other destruc- 
tive and damning crime? One only reason has been 
assigned: "It promotes * courage, and is the fruit 
and evidence of that commanding virtue." This is, 
at best, only true of animal courage ; the virtue in 
which beasts of prey excel. It is, then, but a noble 
aspiring of man, to take high rank with the wild 
boar of the forest, the lion of the desert, or the 
fearless mastiff. Moral courage it is not; for, it is 
for lack of that virtue, that men fight duels at all. 
A man offers you what you regard as an insult ; 
and, for fear the world should think you destitute 
of brute courage, you challenge him to mortal combat. 
Or, a man challenges you: you have, it may be, 
wronged him, and could easily make a satisfactory 
explanation ; but, if you do so, you fear it will be 
thought you did it because you had not the courage 
to fight. Now, in the one case as in the other, 
you were led into the crime of actual or intentional 
murder, because you had not the moral courage to 
be called coward, by those who set a higher estimate 
on the virtues of the mastiff, than on those of the 
philosopher or Christian, who value a quality that 
pertains to the blood and nerves, above that which 
has its origin in reason, philosophy, and religion. 
But, even this rather degrading plea for duelling, 
is, in many cases, if not in most, utterly fallacious. 

In a large proportion of cases, men who fight are 
cowards, and only fight because they have not the 
moral courage to be called by their true designation. 



FIGHTING. 



207 



In proof of this, it needs only to be remarked, that 
men of true courage seldom have any fear of having 
their courage doubted ; but, men who doubt their 
own physical courage, are very apt to resort to 
expedients, to convince others that they are not 
cowardly ; and, in connection with this, take the 
fact, that duellists who can hit a dollar nine shots 
in ten, will, in actual combat, at the same distance, 
miss a man nine shots in ten. You can take any 
number of women and children, (who can be induced 
to fire a pistol at all) and they shall make better 
shots, at a target, than the same number of practiced 
duellists will, in shooting at each other. Duelling 
courage, is, at best, but a brute virtue ; and, the 
existence, even of that, is very questionable, in a 
large proportion of cases. Christians should sternly 
and steadfastly discountenance duelling and duellists; 
and, especially, Christian females should do this, and 
the barbarous vice would be compelled to yield. 

War. Another branch of this subject is War. 
War, is, to nations, what fighting is to individuals; 
and the spirit in which both originate, is the same, 
in general, and is in opposition to the peaceful spirit 
of the gospel. One of the glorious results of the 
universal triumph of Christianity, will be, the estab- 
lishment of universal peace among the nations of 
the earth. The Spirit of the gospel has wrought a 
material change on this subject already ; for, formerly, 
war was made by one nation against another, for 
the purpose of conquest, and this object was regarded 
as sufficient justification for aggressive hostilities. 
Kingdoms were conquered, and ceded to the dominion 



208 FIGHTIXO. 

of the conqueror ; or, if permitted to continue a sort 
of distinct nation, it was usually under tribute and 
disabilities. Prisoners taken in war, were murdered 
in cold blood, or reduced to slavery. Now, the 
case is quite different among civilized nations; and, 
especially, those claiming to be Christian. TTar, 
avowedly for conquest, is not made ; and nations 
making war, manifest a deep desire to convince the 
world of the justice of their causes, respectively, 
and of the uncontrollable necessity of going into 
war. The victorious nation does not seek to destroy 
the national existence of the vanquished, nor to lay 
them under permanent tribute ; prisoners of war 
are treated with humanity, private property is 
respected, and parties neutral, or non-combatant, are 
not molested. 

Yet, with all these ameliorations of the cruelties 
of war, it is still one of the most shocking of forms 
in which human depravity is developed, carrying, 
in its bloody train, all the kinds of suffering and 
sorrow to which human beings can be subjected, and 
all the manifestations of crime that human depravity 
can present. If the rulers of each nation would 
neither make war, except of absolute necessity — 
forced upon them — nor give cause to others to make 
war on them, wars, as well defensive as offensive, 
would at once cease. But, the duty of individual 
Christians, with regard to war, demands a passing 
notice. It is the duty of the citizen, and, especially, 
the Christian, to obey the laws of his country; if, 
therefore, he is called on, authoritatively, by his 
country, to go out to battle, it would seem to be 



FIGHTING. 



209 



his Christian duty to obey the mandate. But, that, 
on the first sound of the tocsin of war, it is the 
duty of the Christian to work himself into a fever 
of patriotism, and love of military glory, and rush 
to the scene of carnage, not by command, but by 
mere permission, of his country, is, by no means, 
so clear a case of duty. In short, if he go, either 
with objects of personal distinction or aggrandizement, 
or from a love of the excitement and operations 
of war, he is clearly out of the line of duty, 
and his religious safety is in most questionable 
condition. 

There is, however, a duty, in relation to this 
subject, which every Christian owes to his country, 
his religion, and his God; it is, to pray, fervently, 
to Almighty God, to direct the hearts of rulers to 
counsels of peace, and to overrule the evils of war, 
to the promotion of the cause of godliness in the 
earth. If we fail of this, we neglect an important 
part of our Christian duty. 
18 



CHAPTER XV. 



QUARRELLING, BRAWLING, BROTHER GOING 
TO LAW WITH BROTHER. 



Quarrelling, Brawling — Angry manner, and harsh words, wrong, 
and ill-judged — Quakers rule for avoiding it — Gentleness, and 
less confident manner, more effectual — Franklin — Brother going 
to law, Sfc. — Good men may honestly differ, and come in conflict — 
In that case, the judgment of brethren is safe, and more becoming, 
than the public courts — Scandal of Christians going to law 
for right — Our rule makes provision for the whole ground of 
settlement, collection, &c. — Delinquents punishable. 

" Quarrelling, Brawling." Contentious, angry, 
noisy, boisterous conversation. This is contrary to 
the meekness and gentleness of Christ. If any one 
have wronged, or injured you, and you deem it 
your duty to speak to him of the matter, the proper 
manner is, to utter, calmly, briefly, and firmly, 
what is necessary to be said, and no more. Angry 
words, or crimination, have the effect to irritate both 
yourself and him you speak to, and both will be 
injured, and neither receive benefit ; whereas, had 
you spoken gently, but plainly, the other party 
would probably have heard with candor, been open 
to conviction, and, perhaps, his error might have 
been cured. By the other course, he is made still 
more your enemy, and the case becomes incurable 
on both sides. And, especially, in what you say, 



QUARRELLING, BRAWLING, ETC. 211 

avoid a loud, brawling manner; it has a peculiarly 
ill effect on both parties. That good Friend (Quaker) 
who said, that the secret of governing the temper 
consisted in never raising the voice above a tone 
of gentleness, was a better philosopher than many 
who have made more imposing pretensions. One 
would find it an awkward business, to carry on a 
quarrel, or brawl, in the low, soft tone, in which 
affection and kindness are wont to clothe themselves. 
And, where the contention is about differences of 
opinion, either as regards facts or principles, doctrines, 
politics, or any thing else, the same remarks will 
generally apply. 

A confident, dogmatizing manner, accompanied with 
an air of dictation and an intolerant spirit, must 
operate, prejudicially, to your own enjoyment, and 
will cover the other party with a coat of mail, so 
thick, that your best arguments can never penetrate 
it. Less self-confidence, a conciliatory manner, and 
more deference for the opinions of your opponent, 
would prepare him to receive conviction of the truth 
from your arguments. You believe yourself in the 
right — so does your friend ; say to him, " I know 
you are wrong;" and, you will, probably, get, for 
answer, " And I know that you are wrong, sir." 
But, say to him, " I really think it is as I have 
stated; but, I may be in error, as I have found 
myself, on many other occasions ; and, if so, I shall 
be pleased to be set right;" and, you will, probably, 
elicit a reply like this, " I have been of the opinion 
stated;" or, "My recollection of the fact, is as I 
have said; but, I claim no exemption from error, 



212 



BROTHER GOING TO LAW 



and am more than ready to be corrected, if in 
the wrong." Oh! how "a soft answer turneth away 
wrath !" 

It was Franklin, we believe, who said, in substance, 
that the expression, "I am inclined to think it is 
thus or so," has opened the human heart to more 
convictions, than all the argument expressed, in a 
dogmatizing manner, that ever was uttered by man. 
And, there can be little doubt of the soundness of 
the position. The Christian, especially, should not 
strive, but be gentle in all things. Gentleness is 
his armor, offensive and defensive; his shield and his 
sword, with which he defends himself, and overcomes 
his adversary. 

"Brother going to law with brother." The 
law was made for the lawless and disobedient, and 
a man who is earnestly desirous to "flee the wrath 
to come and be saved from sin," will not require the 
action of law to compel him to do justice. He acts 
from fixed moral principle, and will clo nothing to 
injure his neighbour or wound his own conscience, 
no matter how large the gain which such a course 
may promise. Yet, it will happen, that men of pure 
intentions, aiming only at right, will differ with 
regard to their respective rights and duties connected 
with property and business transactions ; and, in like 
manner, it may happen, that a good man may fail, 
through unavoidable reverses, to meet his engagements 
with another good man; but neither of these cases 
requires, or even justifies a resort to the civil law 
for redress. The apostle sharply reproved one of the 
Churches for appealing to the law for the settlement 



WITH BROTHER. 



213 



of difficulties between brethren. Members of the 
Church are presumed to be governed by right motives, 
and a desire to do justice in all things ; and, where 
such a disposition exists, the judgment of honest, 
impartial, and intelligent brethren, affords quite as good 
security of rights, and against wrongs, as any court 
could afford. 

Furthermore, when difficulties do grow up unhappily 
between brethren, it is, on all accounts, better that they 
be kept within the Church family, and not proclaimed to 
a gainsaying world, through the litigations of a court. 
And, besides, when brethren come to be arrayed 
against each other in legal strife, before the public, 
the spirit of rivalry, of strife for victory, and of 
bitterness, is very likely to take possession of them ; 
and, through them, the cause of God is wounded by 
its professed friends. Again, in legal action, the right 
is not unfrequently perverted, or lost, by mere legal 
technicalities ; but, in a court of moral equity, 
composed of God-fearing brethren, no such advantage 
is taken, and the untrammelled justice of the case 
is honestly sought, and is more likely to be gained 
in this way," than in any other. 

Brother going to law with brother, is a violation 
of a positive apostolic injunction ; when, therefore, 
the rule is violated by members of the Church, it is the 
duty of those in the administration to have the case 
fairly investigated. For this purpose, we have a 
law based on this general rule, and that law should 
always be applied in cases of violation, unless the case 
be one of very peculiar character. If, for example, 
a man be in the relation of executor, administrator, 



214 BROTHER GOING TO LAW WITH BROTHER. 

or guardian, and must take legal proceedings against 
a brother, or become liable himself, such a case would 
not fall within the rule. A law to punish a member 
of the Church, for going to law with another member, 
would not be just and equitable however, were not 
provision made by which the creditor can get his 
just claims through the intervention of the Church 
tribunals. But such provision is made ; and, conse- 
quently, members are left without excuse in bringing 
suit against other members of the Church. If the claim 
be a disputed one, the parties are to choose an arbiter 
each, and the two arbiters a third, to adjust the 
accounts. If either be dissatisfied with the settlement, 
he may apply to the Quarterly Conference, which will 
grant him, if there be apparent ground for it, a new 
commission of five, appointed as above, to re-examine 
the accounts. If the account be " an undisputed one, 
then, on complaint of the creditor, the case shall be 
submitted to a committee, to determine whether any 
further indulgence shall be granted to the debtor; 
and, if so, what, and on what conditions. In either of 
the cases above, if either party refuse to comply, 
or submit to the decision, he should be brought before 
"the society, or a select number," and they should 
determine the fact of his compliance or refusal, and 
what penalty, if any, should be inflicted on him. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



RETURNING EVIL FOR EVIL, OR RAILING FOR 
RAILING. USING MANY WORDS IN BUYING 
AND SELLING. THE BUYING OR SELLING 
GOODS THAT HAVE NOT PAID THE DUTY. 



Returning evil, Sfc. — The spirit of revenge contrary to the Gospel — 
Gentleness, kindness, and forgiveness, the Christian's offensive and 
defensive armor. Using many words, fyc. — The seller's trade to 
praise his wares — Danger of injuring both conscience and business 
— The falling and Jewing system. Buying or selling goods that have 
not paid the duty — The matter explained — Equally criminal to 
stop money on its way to the treasury, as to take it from there. 

" Returning- evil eor evil, or railing for 
railing-." — The disposition of the natural heart, and 
the morality of the world, dispose men to do unto 
others as they do to you, — not as they should do, 
or as you would have them do to you. The man 
has wronged you, spoken unkindly of you, or shown 
himself your enemy; and, for this reason, you will 
act towards him in the same manner. Such a course 
is at variance with the gospel rule ; and with the rights, 
duties, and interests of both the parties. Christ, your 
pattern, when he was reviled, reviled not; when he 
suffered, he threatened not ; and even implored mercy 
on his own murderers. He taught his followers : — 
"Bless them that curse you; bless and curse not." 
" Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." " Forgive us our 



216 



RETURNING EVIL FOR EVIL, ETC. 



trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against 
us." 

The spirit of forbearance and forgiveness is 
peculiar to the gospel system, and is one of its 
distinguishing excellencies. Its practical observance is 
calculated to work results in harmonizing the elements 
of society, that nothing else can possibly accomplish. 
When you hear that your neighbour has said some 
hard things of you, first enquire within yourself, 
honestly, if you have given any real or apparent 
ground for it ; and if you find the first true, go to him 
and acknowledge your fault ; if the second, go and 
explain away his misapprehension; and, ten to one, 
in either case, that will be the end of the difficulty, 
and you will have gained your brother. But, if 
neither be true, and you possess conscious innocence, 
and feel yourself traduced in the matter, do not fall in 
to a paroxysm of rage, and return railing for railing. 
Say no harsh or irritating things of him; but, on 
the contrary, remark quietly, that, though it is a small 
thing to be judged with men's judgment, in such 
cases, yet you regret that he has fallen into a mistake 
about you, of which you will endeavor to convince him 
by the blamelessness of your conduct ; and, if he 
possess good traits of character — and who does not ? — 
take occasion to allude to those better qualities of his 
as a reason why you regret his false estimate of you. 
When this reaches his ears, the stronger probability is, 
that he will at once regret, and, perhaps, retract what 
he had said ; and, instead of remaining at perpetual 
variance, ere long, friendly feelings will prevail, and 
friendly relations be established between you. 



USING MANY WORDS, ETC. 



217 



All men are strengthened in their enmity and armed 
for strife, by harsh language, or ill-natured expressions; 
but no man provides armor to defend himself against 
the shafts of kindness ; and, consequently, there is, 
probably, not one enemy of a thousand who may not be 
conquered by these effective love-pointed weapons* 
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good," is a precept full of harmony and heaven. Feed 
your hungry enemy, and minister kindly to all his 
wants ; and, " in so doing thou shalt heap coals of 
fire on his head,"- — shalt soften his hardness, and melt 
down his enmity, by the fervid fire of love. 

" Using many words in buying or selling." — 
Perhaps few good precepts are so generally violated, 
by business doing Christians, as this one. The seller 
seems to regard it as a part of his trade or calling, 
and essential to his success, to commend his com- 
modities to the buyer by all the eloquence and art he 
can bring to bear on the subject; and it is pressed 
on the customer with so much urgency, that the latter 
finds it almost impossible to escape. The superior 
quality, and uncommon cheapness of the article, are set 
forth in such terms as are nearly irresistible. This is 
wrong in any one, and, especially, when the limits of 
sober truth are transcended, as they almost necessarily 
are, where so much is said on a subject so barren 
of truthful matter. But, in a Christian, it is a letting 
down of the dignity of his profession to resort to such 
petty artifices. And, besides, the effect of such a 
habit is to diminish, or, perhaps, entirely destroy 
confidence in the declaration of a fluent dealer. 
A simple statement of facts, and a candid answering 
19 



218 



USING MANY WORDS 



- of the questions propounded by the buyer, will secure a 
higher measure of confidence than all the over- wrought 
eulogies that can be pronounced on his wares. A 
dealer has done much to his own advantage, when he 
has convinced his customers that they may rely with 
perfect confidence on his statements. 

Another wrong in trade, but too common, is to state 
your price, and then fall from it lower and lower, 
so convincing the buyer that you have no fixed 
rule of action, and are seeking to extort a larger price 
than the value of the article. He reasonably infers, 
that your lowest price is one that you can afford 
to take, or you would not take it ; and that price 
being one-third, or one-half less than your first 
demand, he comes fairly to the conclusion, that the 
difference between the two prices, is the sum above 
a fair, honest price, or profit, that you intended to have 
shorn him of, if you could. A Christian should fix his 
prices at a just and fair rate, and never vary from 
these, unless there be a good reason for so doing; 
and that reason for you own reputation's sake, ought 
to be made obvious to the buyer. 

And the principles applicable to the seller, should 
govern the action of the buyer. "It is naught, it 
is naught, saith the buyer, (and the seller also) and, 
when he is gone, he boasteth," is a proverb of wisdom 
and truth. "Beating down," or cheapening the 
article you would purchase, by undervaluing it, or by 
other arts, is unbecoming a Christian. As a general 
rule, pay the price asked, or go quietly away and 
say nothing about it; but, if you wish to procure it, 
and think it too high, and that, probably, the owner can 



IN BUYING OR SELLING. 



219 



afford to take a less price, you might say to him that, if 
he can afford to take a certain price, named, you will 
purchase, but that you cannot afford to pay more. 
This would settle the point at issue, without many 
words. But, to see Christians laboring, by the hour, to 
"jew" each other, to get an advantage of a few 
coppers or dimes, is a humiliating spectacle. If you 
would preserve your own conscience pure, if you would 
enjoy the confidence of the Church, and the respect 
of the world, use not many words in buying and 
selling. 

"The buying or selling goods that have not 
paid the duty." — This is an obligation arising out 
of our relation to the government under which we five, 
and by which we enjoy protection of person, property, 
and character. Duties are imposed by the national 
legislature, on certain commodities imported from other 
countries into ours ; and the revenue, arising from this 
source, constitutes the chief means of supporting the 
expenses of government. Either, therefore, to smuggle 
goods into the country, in violation of the tariff laws of 
the land, or to buy or sell such, knowing them to 
be contraband, is a lawless robbery committed on 
the treasury of the nation ; for, lightly as some persons 
seem to think of the matter, to arrest money on its 
way to the national treasury, and appropriate it to 
private use, is an act of the same moral complexion with 
that of. taking it out of the treasury, feloniously, after 
it has reached its destination. And to purloin, in any 
form, from the government, is a crime of no less 
turpitude than robbing an individual. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THT> GIVING OR TAKING THINGS ON USURY? 
THAT IS, UNLAWFUL INTEREST. UNCHARI- 
TABLE, OR UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION; 
PARTICULARLY, SPEAKING EVIL OF MAGIS- 
TRATES OR MINISTERS. 



Usury — Value of money variable ; and, hence, difficult to fix a just 
rate of hire — Necessary to follow the rule of law — Duty to lend — 
Uncharitable, or unprofitable conversation — Nature and effects of 
charity — Bad effects of neglecting this rule — Unprofitable conver- 
sation nearly allied to uncharitable — common and fashionable — 
unbecoming Christians — Speaking evil of magistrates or ministers 
— Original design of this rule to apply to civil rulers — a different 
opinion held, but this one proved by several arguments; but, 
though the rule does not apply to gospel ministers, yet, it well 
enough expresses a duty due them — Disposition to fault-finding 
rebuked — Christians fix the position of then ministers in com- 
munity, by the respect they show him by word and deed. 

"The giving or taking things on usury; that 
is, unlawful interest." — This is a point of no little 
difficulty to settle, with entire equity. The circulating 
medium of a country — that is, its money ; whether in 
the form of precious metals, or their representative — 
is fluctuating in value ; and it must be impossible, 
therefore, to fix a just standard of value for it, 
suited to all the different circumstances and times. 
A barrel of flour, or pork, is of the same intrinsic 
value — that is, it will go as far in sustaining human 
life — when its cost, or commercial value, is five dollars, 



UNLAWFUL INTEREST. 



221 



as when it is twenty-five. Money, then, is more or 
less valuable, as it will procure more or less of the 
necessaries and comforts of life. With this unsteadi- 
ness in the real value of money, there must be some 
difficulty in fixing an unchangeable value on the 
use, or hire, of it; yet, to guard against extortion, 
governments fix upon a certain rate of hire, or 
interest, for the use of money ; and, whether this 
be always exactly the true value, or not, is not a 
question for the Christian to debate ; his government 
has established that particular rate of interest, and 
attached a penalty to the offence of exacting more; 
and, the good citizen, and, especially, the Christian, 
is bound to obey, and submit to the requirements 
of law. But, another consideration in favor of 
respecting the law, in this matter, is, that it is 
intended to protect the poor against oppressive 
exactions, on the part of the rich. At best, " The 
borrower is slave to the lender." (Proverbs.) " Do 
not rich men oppress you ?" It is, therefore, at 
once, merciful and just, in the government, to inter- 
pose its authority, in protecting the poor against 
the oppressions of the rich; and, that true Christians 
should take side with the government — not against 
the rich, but — in protection of the rights of the poor. 
And the wealthy Christian should deem it a small 
sacrifice, to be restricted, by civil and Church law, 
from claiming as large gain of his hired money as 
he may consider it really worth, when he recollects 
that it is the command of his government, and 
intended for the benefit of the larger number, and 
the more needy of society. 



222 



UNLAWFUL INTEREST. 



But Christians should be slow to put out their 
money at usurious interest ; because, the act is 
expressly forbidden in the Word of God, and indul- 
gence in it, wears the appearance of a grasping — 
not to say avaricious — disposition, more consistent 
with the love of the world, than with the love of 
God and man. And, while there are men of the 
world, and even infidels, in our country, who make 
it matter of conscience, not to receive usurious 
interest for the use of money, if a rich Christian 
exacts it from a poor brother, it puts arguments in 
the mouths of gainsay ers, and is used, frequently, 
to the discredit of our religion. There may be 
exceptions to the general rule ; but, unless the cases 
be clearly marked as exceptions, by peculiar circum- 
stances, Christians should subject their conduct to 
the government of this law. 

The remarks above are directed to the lender, 
rather than the borrower ; because, though the rule 
speaks alike against giving or taking things on usury, 
it is a natural presumption, that men will not seek 
to pay usurious hire for money, but would rather 
avoid it. Yet, there are cases, in which men, from 
motives of lucre, are anxious to give even exorbitant 
interest for money, to carry out some scheme of 
speculation. To such, the rule applies with equal 
force, as to usurious lenders. But, where men are 
placed in straights, by providential and unavoidable 
circumstances, in which they must have money, or 
forfeit their word, suffer for the necessaries of life, 
or the like, and can only procure it by paying more 
than lawful interest, they are protected by the law 



UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION. 



223 



of necessity, and the whole responsibility rests on 
the usurious lender. And, if a man is restrained 
from taking usury, through fear of the law, or public 
censure, and, therefore, will not lend at all, when 
he has it to spare, he is still a usurer at heart, 
and adds to this the withholdment from the needy, 
though secure of its return, that which the circum- 
stances of the latter require, and which the former 
could well spare. It is as much a duty to lend, 
as it is not to exact exorbitant hire for the thing 
loaned. 

" Uncharitable, or unprofitable conversation." 
€harity is the crowning virtue of our religion ; and, 
the impressive and clear description of it, by the 
Apostle, St. Paul, in 1st Corinthians xiii., should 
be very frequently read, and carefully studied, by 
all persons desirous to seek their salvation. 

One of its many good qualities, as there delineated, 
is, that it " thinketh no evil." " Out of the abundance 
<?f the heart, the mouth speaketh and, if the heart 
be filled with charity, out of it can proceed no 
uncharitable expressions. The value of this precept 
will appear, when we consider, how large a portion 
of the bitterness, strifes, heart-burnings, and discords, 
in society, have their origin in uncharitable remarks, 
imprudently uttered. How often does a single unchari- 
table remark, made about an innocent individual, run, 
and spread, in society, like fire cast into a dry 
prairie, until the subject of remark is nearly ruined 
in reputation, and knows not wherefore, or by whom. 
And, in many cases, he is the last man, in a whole 



224 



UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION. 



community, to find out that any thing is abroad to 
his detriment. 

Brother Smith attended a wedding, in the family 
of a neighbor — ate his supper, and, at an early 
hour, returned home. After his departure, music, 
dancing, and cards, were introduced, and several 
persons indulged, to excess, in the pleasures of the 
wine-cup ; but, of all this, he happened to hear 
nothing, for some time. A month afterwards, the 
shy manner, and cold looks, of brethren, admonished 
him that something was wrong; and, with some 
effort and inquiry, he finally learned, that it was 
currently rumored, that he had attended a dance 
and card party, where drinking and disorderly conduct 
prevailed ; and the truth of the report was not 
doubted ; because, it was known, publicly, that those 
things were carried on, on that occasion; and, he 
had, himself, informed Brother Jones that he was 
going there, and Mrs. Tellall had seen him there, 
she was confident, after dancing, playing, and drinking, 
had commenced. The rumor had gained something, 
by each "uncharitable conversation" had on the 
subject ; until, by the time it reached his ear, it had 
grown to fearful magnitude. Had the rule of charity 
been pursued, much evil had been avoided. " Charity 
tMnketh no evil" of a brother; until, having first, 
and immediately, gone to him, heard his explanation, 
and learned all the facts. 

Be careful how you hear evil of a brother, 
more careful how you believe it, and most careful 
how you report it. This rule observed, would put 
an end to tattling, slander, tale-bearing, and evil 



UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION. 



225 



speaking, and would extinguish the embers of strife 
among neighbors and brethren. 

How true it is, that " the tongue is an unruly 
evil, full of deadly poison;" "it setteth on fire the 
whole course of nature, and is set on fire of hell ;" 
and equally true, that he who rightly "bridleth his 
tongue, is able, also, to govern the whole body." 

On no point, probably, are Christians more generally 
deficient, than on this ; and, while it seems a small 
matter, it is really one of the most dangerous of the 
" little foxes that spoil the vines." Speak nothing 
of your brother, if possible to avoid it, unless you 
can speak something to his advantage; and, if you 
"hear, fear, or think," any thing, unfavorable of 
him, go, at once, and speak to him, freely and 
kindly ; but, send it not abroad, without giving him 
information, or you will be likely to lose the confidence 
of your brother, and to wound your own conscience 
and the cause of God. 

And, what "uncharitable conversation" is, in 
mischievousness of effects, to those who are made 
its objects, or victims, "unprofitable conversation" 
is to those who engage in it. In truth, the unpro- 
fitable is very apt to degenerate, by the force of 
its own inherent tendencies, into the uncharitable. 
The inestimable gift of speech was bestowed on man, 
for the impartation of profitable thoughts and feelings ; 
and, since, in the works of God, and in his revealed 
Book, there are such vast and inexhaustible mines 
of knowledge and enjoyment, it is to be regretted, 
that beings constituted with capabilities to communi- 
cate and receive so much information and moral 



226 



UNPROFITABLE CONVERSATION. 



improvement, through the medium of conversation, 
should employ their noble powers in conversation 
the most ridiculously trifling, empty, and unprofitable. 
In the fashionable assemblies and circles of the 
day, it is absolutely astonishing, to what perfection 
educated and sensible men and women have brought 
the art of talking, continuously, for hours, without 
expressing an idea, or giving utterance to a thought, 
of sufficient value to be remembered an hour. And, 
if, into those refined companies, man or woman dare 
introduce the subject of science, religion, or literature, 
(excepting only silly novels) he is voted a bore, 
or she is set down as a blue stocking. But, whatever 
pretext fashionable worldlings may choose to plead, in 
defence of such puerilities, Christians — who know, that, 
for every idle word that men utter, shall they give 
account to God — can have no semblance of plea for 
such a course. The pious, in ancient times, " spake 
often, one to another;" but, theirs was not unprofitable 
conversation; on the contrary, so highly was it 
esteemed by God himself, that he " hearkened, and 
heard it," and recorded it in his book of remembrance ; 
for, " a book of remembrance was written before Him, 
for them." What sort of figure would some of the 
conversations of professed Christians exhibit, in the 
Book of God? Oh! the < < foolish talking," the "idle 
words," the "jesting, unbecoming sayings," that shall 
appear against us at the day of the Lord ! Seeing 
these things are so, " what manner of persons ought 
we to be, in all holy conversation ?" " Having 
our conversation seasoned with (gracious) salt, fit to 
minister grace to the hearers." 



EVIL SPEAKING. 



227 



" Speaking evil op magistrates or ministers." 
With regard to the " speaking evil against magistrates 
and ministers," it was designed, no doubt, to guard 
the original Methodists of England, (for, the rules 
were then not expected ever to operate beyond that 
locality) against any thing like insubordination, or 
disrespect, to the government and the civil rulers 
of the land ; and a practical carrying out of the 
precept, which Paul quoted against himself, when 
he had ignorantly transgressed it, " Thou shalt not 
speak evil of the ruler of thy people." And it is 
a part of Christian duty, to be in peaceable subjection 
to the government of the country. It is the right 
of a Christian, as a freeman, to give* his vote for a 
change of rulers, or of laws, if he approve not those 
in authority ; but, it is his duty, as a Christian, to 
submit to the constituted authority, without inveighing 
or noisy complaint. So much as this is necessary, 
for the purposes of orderly government in the State ; 
and Christians are the last men in society, who should 
be chargeable with being despisers of governments, 
or brawling disorganizers. Christians, of all names, 
have erred, to the discredit of their profession, by 
the zealous part many have taken, in the tempes- 
tuous contentions of political parties in our own 
country. 

This passage, we are aware, has been understood by 
some, to have had original reference to ministers of the 
gospel; which is, doubtless, a misapprehension of the 
design of Mr. Wesley. For, 1st. It could not have 
meant Methodist ministers, for there were none, at 
that date, (save Mr. Wesley, and a few others who 



228 



EVIL SPEAKING. 



were clergymen of the English Church) they being 
simply unordained lay preachers, to whom the term 
minister was never applied, and to whom it was 
inapplicable. 2nd. It did not intend ministers of the 
English Church, because the term clergymen, and not 
minister, was applied to them, by Mr. Wesley, as well 
as by every one else ; and, because, further, the low 
state of morals among the clergy generally, and their 
abuse of the sacred office, furnished a poor reason why 
Mr. Wesley should regard it as more criminal to speak 
evil of them (of whom little else could be truthfully 
spoken) than of any body else. 3rd. The term 
minister was applied, in England, almost exclusively, 
and, certainly, distinctively, to ministers of State, 
answering to the heads of departments in our own 
government. They are regarded as an embodymenfc 
of the government, and are always styled ministers. 
To these, and the civil magistracy of the country, 
the rule evidently intended to apply. 4th. The British 
Methodist Conference gave this interpretation to the 
rule, in 1T92 — the year after Mr. Wesley's death. 
They say: "None of us shall, either in writing, or 
conversation, speak lightly, or irreverently, of the 
the government under which he lives. The oracles 
of God command us to be subject to the higher powers ; 
and honour to the king is there connected with the fear 
of God." And, with explicit reference to this very 
rule, they add: "Such are the general rules of the 
connection, on speaking evil of dignities ; and, if it be 
discovered that any members observe them not, or 
habitually break any of them, they are admonished 
of the error of their ways. They are borne with for a 



EVIL SPEAKING. 



229 



season ; but then, if they repent not, they have no 
more place in the society." 

Mr. Wesley, in an article respecting " speaking evil 
of dignities," after treating freely of the crime of 
speaking evil of the chief magistrate, adds : " Many, 
who do not so freely censure the king, speak all 
manner of evil of his ministers" &c. "Hence," said 
the organ of the British connection, many years ago, 
" Mr. Wesley made it a rule of the Methodist Society, 
that all who continue therein, shall avoid evil of 
every kind, particularly speaking evil of magistrates 
and ministers" 

Perhaps our first Bishops — Coke and Asbury — will 
be considered as good authority, at least, as modern 
interpreters, who have construed this rule, in # manner 
productive of great damage to the Church. The 
Bishops, then, in their notes on this passage, simply 
give, for exposition, the following quotations from the 
word of God, every one of them referring, expressly and 
exclusively to civil governments and rulers, and the 
duty of Christians with regard to them : Acts xxiii. 25, 
Rom. xiii. 1-7 ; Tit. hi. 1 ; 2 Pet. ii. 9-11 ; Jude viii. 
1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. With these lights before us, it is 
impossible to doubt what was the original design of the 
rule, or to sanction its practical perversion, in later 
times. 

But, though the rule was not primarily designed 
to protect gospel ministers, yet the admonition is as 
necessary in their case, probably, as in any other. 
There is too much of a disposition, in the Church, to 
hear preaching as critics, rather than to be made wise 
unto salvation by its teachings. The manner, the 



230 



EVIL SPEAKING, 



style, the length, and all other qualities and appurte- 
nances of the, sermon, are canvassed and discussed 
over a rich, hot, Sabbath dinner, with the most 
scrutinizing criticism ; and, in this way, many times, 
the preachers way is hedged up, and unfavorable 
impressions made against him, which it may be 
difficult, if not impossible, for him to remove. Were 
hearing mixed with faith and prayer, and followed by 
serious meditation ; did the hearers implore God's help 
for the preacher, and for themselves, the hands of 
many a minister would be held up, instead of being 
discouraged by the impossibility of satisfying critical 
and fastidious members. 

It is a serious matter to say any thing against a 
true minister of Christ, that may prevent his access to 
the hearts of the people, or his usefulness in the 
vineyard of his Master ; and a single thoughtless 
sentence, containing an unfavorable inuendo, may work 
this fearful mischief, though the man uttering it may 
have been actuated more by a desire to be looked on 
as possessing superior discernment, than by any wish to 
injure the standing or influence of the minister. To 
avoid all this, it is only necessary to act in these, and 
all things, with a view to promote the glory of God. 
Then will you be willing to bear with the imperfections 
of your minister, and, rather support and defend, than 
discourage and prostrate him. In weakening the 
hands, the influence, the courage of your ministers, 
you weaken the Church. As you speak of your 
ministry, so will the world, generally, estimate the 
character and value of that ministry ; and they will set 
an estimate on the Church itself, very like that put on 



EVIL SPEAKING . 



231 



the ministry. But, however low the estimate your 
remarks may cause others to place on the ministry and 
the Church, they will, generally, put a still lower one 
on the man who speaks evil of his own ministry, and his 
own Church; and the judgment is usually just and 
correct. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



DOING TO OTHERS AS WE WOULD NOT THAT 
THEY SHOULD DO UNTO US. DOING WHAT 
WE KNOW IS NOT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD: 
AS, THE PUTTING ON OF GOLD, AND COSTLY 
APPAREL. DRESS. 



The golden rule — God requires our obedience to this rule, but we 
have no claim on others to observe it, only as based on our 
own obedience to it — Dress — t: Gold and costly apparel " are 
joined, together in the rule, and in the word of God, though often 
separated in enforcing the duty — Both prohibited alike and for the 
same reason, though the putting on of gold condemned by many, 
who scruple not to put on costly apparel — Reasons against both — 
a wrongful waste of money — out of Christian character — the 
example is pernicious — afflicts the feelings of others — operates to 
the prejudice of Christianity — An excuse — Inconsistency in early 
■plain Methodists — Bad effects of it — Moderation and gravity in 
dress required, especially in ministers and aged Christians. 

" Doing to others as we would not that they 
should do unto us." — We are here brought directly 
up to the golden rule of Christ, a rule worth more, in 
itself, than all the other systems of morality or ethics 
ever given to the world. If you would not that others 
should wrong you in dealings, suppress part of the 
truth, conceal defects in articles sold you, be fair to 
your face, and say unkind things of you behind your 
back, or suffer others to do so, without defending you, 
then this must be your rule of action towards them, 



DRESS. 



233 



otherwise, you have no claim on them. God has a 
claim on them, and on you, to do to others as you 
would they should do unto you, whether others do so 
to you or not ; but, you have no such claim on others, 
unless you act on this rule with regard to them. 
How few Christians live in strict compliance with this 
rule ? And how would its faithful observance make the 
wilderness to blossom as the rose, and the moral deserts 
of earth, to be as the garden of the Lord ! 

Dress. — " Doing what we know is not for the 
glory of God : as, the putting on of gold, and 
costly apparel." The admonition, " Whatsoever 
ye do, do all to the glory of God," clearly prohibits 
Christians from doing, "what they know is not for 
His glory." The essential glory of God, cannot be in 
any manner affected by the conduct, or spirit of man ; 
whether they serve God, or fight against his govern- 
ment, he will still be God, the God of glory ; but, the 
glory of his grace may be displayed, and advanced, by 
a course of obedience to the Divine commands, and, 
especially, by doing good to the souls and bodies of 
men, and leading them to virtue and piety. This is 
called, the declarative glory of God ; and this, it is 
given to men to promote, or to obscure. Certain acts 
may not be strictly vicious or criminal, and yet not be 
for the glory of God. And several examples here 
follow in the rules, two of which stand in the caption 
of this article, putting on of gold, and putting on 
costly apparel. These are joined together, not only 
in these rules, but also in the sacred word, from 
which they are copied. See 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Peter iii. 
20 



234 



DRESS. 



3, 4 ; and what God hath joined together, man has no 
right to put asunder. And jet, this is not unfrequently 
done in this very case ; men and ministers, who tolerate 
any extent of expensiveness in dress, or costliness of 
apparel, yet feel themselves called on to bear a zealous 
testimony against the wearing of gold, however small 
the cost of the article worn. Whatever is wrong in 
putting on gold, is wrong in putting on costly apparel ; 
and whatever renders the one improper, places the 
other in the same category. God has prohibited both 
these things, and both alike, and for the same reasons ; 
for, though what God prohibits is wrong, because he 
prohibits it, yet the reason of the prohibition commonly 
lies uncovered on the very surface of the subject, 
accessible to all candid inquirers. Why, then, is the 
" putting on of gold, and costly apparel, forbidden? 

1st. It is a mal-appropriation of your Lord's money. 
You have no right to squander, in extravagant dress, 
what God has entrusted to your stewardship, for the 
relief of the widow and fatherless, or to aid in spread- 
ing the gospel of salvation. 

2nd. It is out of Christian character, to manifest, 
or to cherish a fondness for finery, a pride of dress, a 
love of fashion. To see a Christian decorate his or 
her person, in a manner indicating more care for the 
ornamenting of the death-doomed, but idolized body, 
than for the immortal soul ; and squander, in frivolous 
show, what should go to the treasury of the Lord, or 
the poor, is a spectacle of pitiable weakness and folly. 
Any thing in the line of dress, that tends to foster 
pride in yourself, or children, is clearly wrong, and 
should be carefully avoided. A conscientious and 



DRESS. 



235 



sensible Christian will never be first to be carried away 
with new fashions ; nor to imitate the devotee of fashion 
in an idolatrous devotion to that capricious divinity* 
The extravagantly fashionable Christian loses the con- 
fidence of the Church, the world, and of himself; and, 
probably, none such enjoy a full share of the life" of 
godliness in the soul. 

3rd. The example is pernicious. Are you rich in 
the goods of this world ? By the force of a principle 
of our common nature, we are disposed to imitate those 
above us, in every department, and in nothing is this 
more manifest, than in the matter of dress. If you, 
therefore, being a rich Christian, set an example of 
extravagance in dress, in furniture, in equipage, those 
in circumstances less opulent, will be inclined to imitate 
you in these things, to their own injury; while their 
example becomes, in turn, the object of imitation with 
persons in circumstances still below theirs, and thus 
extravagance, debt, and distress follow, as the baneful 
fruit of your example.* True, your example does not 



* Miss Cox, in her excellent work, " Young Lady's Com- 
panion," which has the warm sanction of Bishop McHvaine, of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, says : " The passion for personal 
decoration, is, alas ! too widely diffused over our whole country, 
and is every where leading to the most fatal results. It is the 
great Moloch of American females ; and the devotees of this idol 
are to be found in every stage of society. Among the poor, it 
frequently lures its victims to the paths of infamy, and leaves 
them to reap the bitter wages of their sin, through an old age of 
•disease and squalid poverty, or carries them to an untimely 
grave. On this account, if on no other, it behooves American 
females, who occupy the higher ranks of society, and, especially, 
such as are professing Christians, to set an example of modera- 



236 



DEESS. 



justify their conduct ; but neither is tout conduct 
excusable, when you know the evil effects it is calculated 
to produce in others. Do you say, " My money is my 
own, and I have a right to do with it as I please V 9 
This is a great mistake : you are not your own ; and the 
property you possess is not held in your own right, but 
only as a steward of your Lord's money, and to Him 
you must answer. Tou have, therefore, no right to 
waste your Lord's goods on your lust of show, or pride 
of heart ; and, especially, when in doing so, you not only 
rob the poor, whom you have always with you, but 
arouse the emulation of others to follow your footsteps, 
to their temporal injury, their spiritual detriment, and, 
it may bo, to the scandal of the cause of Christ. How 
many, by thus " comparing themselves among them- 



tion and simplicity in attire. Foreigners are almost universally 
struck with the gaudy appearance made by our ladies of fashion, 
in the streets and public promenades of our large cities. 
English ladies of rank would consider it not exactly comme il 
faut, [as it should be,] to appear in the streets of their metropolis, 
attired like the fair perambulators of Broadway and Chesnut 
street Especially are the eyes of foreigners struck with the 
appearance of the female members of our city Churches. ' I 
should take your Church for a theatre, were I to judge by the 
dress of the ladies;' was the remark made by an English gentle- 
man, after leaving a fashionable congregation of Philadelphia." 
The same writer, quotes from an English work, as follows : — 
TTe transgress against the Scripture standard, if the style, or 
particulars of our dress are designed to attract the eye, win admira- 
tion, or gratify our taste for display, or our pride of person or 
station. It [this test] judges the rags of the heathen devotee, 
and the coarse garb of the monk, as well as the gaudy show of 
fashion, and the aspiring finery of the lower orders." — Infant 
Brothers. 



DRESS. 



237 



selves," and acting by the example of others, have 
become inextricably involved in debt, and have suffered 
the sacrifice of property, prospects, and good name ? 

4th. The feelings of others are afflicted by this 
course. Paul would abstain from meat, for life, if his 
using it either would lead his weak brother astray, or 
wound his feelings or conscience. There are many, even 
in this fashion-loving age, whose feelings are deeply 
wounded, by seeing the professed disciples of Christ quite 
even with the most worldly-minded, and vain, in the 
incessant chase after new fashions and gay apparel. To 
their feelings you owe respect, which you cannot justly 
withhold ; for they are usually among the most humble 
and pious of the flock of Christ. And, if it were 
better for a persecuting enemy, that a millstone were 
hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than 
that he should offend one of the little ones of Christ's 
flock, how can the Christian stand guiltless, who 
tramples down alike, the feelings of lambs, sheep, and 
shepherd, for the gratification of a vain desire for 
worldly display ? 

. 5th. It operates to the prejudice of Christianity 
with the world ; or, at least, to the prejudice of dress- 
loving Christians. The votaries of fashion know how 
inordinately their own hearts are set on dress, and how 
unwilling they would be to sacrifice this idol on the 
altar of true piety ; they feel, that the love of display 
occupies the place in their hearts, that should be 
possessed by the love of God ; and when they see 
Christians running, side by side, with them, in the same 
race of fashion, they very reasonably infer, that those 
Christians are actuated by the same feelings and 



238 



DRESS. 



motives with themselves ; and, as theirs are condemned 
by their own consciences, they must conclude, either 
that Christianity erects a standard, on this subject, less 
elevated, than that set up by their own consciences, 
or that fashion-loving Christians disregard in practice 
the standard of their profession. 

But, says a fashionable Christian, " My heart is not 
placed on dress ; I rarely think of what I have on. 
Dress does not hurt me." Possibly, as the heart is 
deceitful, and hard to be known, your heart may have 
deceived you in this matter ; and it is worth while to 
make the examination, by an easy and sure test. If 
your heart is not on your flaunting finery, its surrender 
will prove a very small sacrifice, and you will be most 
ready to give it up at the call of duty ; but, if the 
objects of saving money for the poor, and the cause of 
God — of avoiding an example that may lead others to 
ruin, wound the feelings of disciples of your Lord, and 
cause the world to speak reproachfully of you, or of the 
religion of Jesus Christ, have not power enough to 
induce you to make the sacrifice, then be assured, as 
God liveth, and as thy soul liveth, the love of the world, 
in this one of its forms, has fast hold on your heart, 
and there is danger that the love of the Father will be 
driven out, or that it has no lodgment there. When 
men of the world find us actuated by the same spirit, 
and pursuing the same follies with themselves, all their 
inferences must be unfavorable to religion, or to its 
professors. 

Methodists were once distinguished for great plainness 
of apparel, and this should be the case still, and ever ; 
yet, it has been conjectured, that the early Methodists 



DRESS. 



239 



fell into one error on this subject, and that some of the 
few who still bear a testimony against extravagance in 
dress, fail to escape the same error. That supposed 
error was a want of consistency, in speaking zealously 
against the wearing of jewelry, and articles of dress 
of fashionable pattern; while "costly apparel," no 
matter how expensive, if made in antiquated style, 
escaped all censure. We have known a minister of the 
gospel, while clothed in broadcloth, worth fifteen dollars 
a yard, and wearing a watch worth two hundred dollars, 
(which he did not consider jewelry, or apparel,) to 
denounce a young sister, with much severity, for wearing 
a riband, or ring, worth fifty cents — protecting himself 
by the plainness of his dress ; and, we have known a 
preacher, distinguished for the costliness (but plainness 
also) of his clothing, actually to procure the expulsion 
of a member, for wearing an article of dress, the cost 
of which was twenty-five cents.* This sort of incon- 
sistency cannot well be sustained ; and, the consequence 
is, that the subject has come to be almost wholly 
neglected: and now, even some of our preachers, are as 
much distinguished, as models of fashion and elegance 
of dress, as their predecessors were for plainness. This 

* Mr. Wesley in his " Thoughts on Dress," says : " To be sin- 
gular, merely for singularity sake, is not the part of a Christian : 
I do not, therefore, advise you to wear a hat of such dimensions, 
or a coat of a particular form. Rather, in things that are abso- 
lutely indifferent, that are of no consequence at all, humility and 
courtesy require you to conform to the customs of your country." 
In the same place, he lays down, as rules for dress, 1. " That 
your apparel be not expensive. 2. That it be not gay, airy, 
or showy ; not in the point of the fashion." — Wesley's Works, 
Vol. vi. p. 546. 



DRESS. 



is clearly wrong, not only on account of the bad 
example set in the matter of costliness of apparel, 
(which, on the part of a preacher, is peculiarly perni- 
cious,) but, on account of the example of unbecoming 
fashionableness, indicating a love of dress, and fondness 
for display, poorly according with the spirit of the 
gospel. 

A minister owes some respect, too, in this matter, 
to his professional character. He should be grave 
and dignified in his dress, as well as his manner 
and whole bearing ; and, when a minister affects the 
dandy, in the style of his dress, or puts on gay or 
gaudy colors, he lowers the dignity of his office, 
and, to some extent, brings both it and himself into 
contempt. For a similar reason, it is in bad taste, 
and ridiculous, for a man, or woman, advanced in 
years, to assume the gay apparel of dress-loving 
youth; and, in both cases, the offence is against 
good taste and common sense, as directly as against 
the requirements of the gospel of Christ. To appear, 
in dress, neat, clean, becoming our age and calling, 
is a duty enjoined by our religion ; but, a passion 
for fine clothing, indicates mental weakness, and is 
calculated to injure our own enjoyment, and do much 
injury to others, and the cause of piety. Let us act, 
in this thing, from principle — avoiding extremes and 
inconsistency — and then may we come back to the 
old paths, to the good way, and cease to be a 
reproach, in the mouth of the enemy, on account, 
either of a £< costly apparel," antiquated affectation 
of plainness, or of unbecoming gaiety and foppishness 
of dress. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



AMUSEMENTS. TAKING SUCH DIVERSIONS AS 
CANNOT BE USED IN THE NAME OF THE 
LOED JESUS. DANCING. 



To estimate the effects of dancing-, we must take it in the ball-room, 
where its object is reached, and not in its preparatory exercises 
— Injurious to health — The enemy of mental improvement — 
Opinion of Chesterfield — Moral influence bad — Descriptive scene 
— General character of the whole — analysis of it — Waltzing — 
Opinion of it, by a high literary authority. 

Amusements. — " The taking such diversions 
as cannot be used in the name of the loed 
Jesus." — We are required to do all we do, in the 
name of the Lord Jesus. But, we are met, here, 
by the question, "Are we, then, not permitted 
any amusements, any recreations, as Christians ?" 
Certainly we are ; but, they are such as can be 
used in the name of the Lord Jesus. The idea, 
that religion is to render us gloomy, dissocial, or 
morose, is a great error; for, Christians, only, 
have good right to be cheerful; and, the real 
Christian enjoys the blessings of this life, and even 
the recreations permitted to rational and immortal 
natures, as no other person can. But, the amuse- 
21 



242 



AMUSEMENTS. 



ments most common, and popular, in the world, are 
alike at war with interest and duty, with reason 
and religion. And, as they are not presented to 
us in forms of gross immorality, but under the 
name of " innocent recreations," they are the more 
dangerous, because the more plausible and insinuating ; 
and, it is, therefore, our duty, to guard against their 
seductive influences. Some of these will be noticed; 
and, first, 

Dancing. — With a staid Christian, it is sufficient 
reason for not participating in this common amusement, 
that it " cannot be used in the name of the Lord 
Jesus." But, there are other considerations which 
should have weight with all reflecting minds. Its 
general tendency is adverse to health, to mental 
improvement, and to moral and religious habits. It 
has been pleaded for, it is true, on the ground 
of its being highly promotive of health ; and, so, 
possibly, it might be, in circumstances under which 
it is never practiced, as its object. But, we must 
take it at the point where its object is gained — in 
the ball-room — and not where the exercise is a mere 
preparation for that public exhibition. Persons may 
dance in private — quite alone — and sometimes do so, 
not for the enjoyment, or benefit, of that solitary 
exercise, but solely to qualify themselves to act their 
part with better grace, on the grand arena of public 
exhibition. Here, then, take the dancer, and show 
us the sources of health in this exciting scene. The 
actors are about to exhibit themselves, as public 
spectacles, to be gazed at by others. This, the 



DANCING. 



243 



young lady, ambitious of ball-room distinction, is well 
apprised of ; and, acting accordingly, will aim to 
arrange every thing, concerning her person and 
apparel, with a view to make the most favorable 
impression, by her appearance and performances ; 
and, consequently, instead of being attired in a 
manner suited to reason and circumstances, as on 
ordinary occasions, her apparel is light, and insufficient 
for the protection of her health. Thus arrayed, she 
enters the crowded saloon, and, under high excite- 
ment, engages in the performances of the evening, 
and continues her unwonted exertions, most, or 
all, of the night. Finally, in a state of fatigue, 
perspiration, and high susceptibility of atmospheric 
impressions, she exchanges the heated air of the 
room for the chilling atmosphere of the street; and, 
in all probability, a cold seizes her lungs, or a 
fever takes hold on her brain, and, in instances, 
innumerable, lingering disease, or speedy death, has 
been the result. 

It is. not in point, to prove, whether the. dancing 
exercise of little boys and girls, at dancing school, 
or at home, is healthful, or otherwise, as these are 
but incidental to the ulterior design of dancing — the 
public display. With regard to mental improvement, 
few, or none, will assert, that it is promoted by this 
amusement. The whole tendency is, to call the mind 
away from all sober thought, and mental action, 
calculated to improve, and to superinduce a sort 
of mental vacancy, prejudicial to all intellectual 
exertion. Even Lord Chesterfield, that prince of 
worldlings, who advocated dancing because it was 



244 



AMUSEMENTS. 



fashionable, pronounces it "a silly, trifling thing."* 
And he might have added, truthfully, that a large 
proportion of its votaries vindicate the justness of 
this denunciation, by showing themselves to be silly 
triflers ; for, how very few who distinguish themselves 
in this boasted accomplishment, are distinguished by 
mental vigor, or intellectual culture. Indeed, it 
rests its merit, at least, in part, on the influence it 
exerts, in freeing the mind from the pressure of 
mental toil, and serving as a relaxation from wasting 
study and consuming care. There are relaxations 
from the severity of intellectual labor, which, like 
needful rest to the body, refresh, and prepare for 
a more vigorous prosecution of our work ; but, 
when mental dissipation is substituted for necessary 
relaxation, the effect is as that on the body, when 
enervating excesses take the place of needful repose; 
instead of being thereby reinvigorated, to resume 
duty with increased strength and improved relish, 
both the ability and the .inclination have suffered 
deterioration. And so it is in the instance under 
notice ; not only have science and literature no place 
in the ball-room, but, both its preparations and 
recollections, tend, directly, to banish these from 
the mind, and to fill their places with fascinating 
frivolities, which quickly take root, and stubbornly 
oppose a return to sober study, or rational labor. 



*" Dancing, though a silly, trifling thing, is one of those 
established follies to which people of sense are sometimes 
obliged to conform; and, if they do, they should be able to 
perform it well." — Chesterfield. 



DANCING. 



245 



Let the student employ his thoughts about the 
preparations for a dancing party, for a week or two, 
then mingle in its giddy excitements, and occupy 
his mind, for days afterwards, with recollections, 
impressions, and suggestions, furnished by the occasion, 
and it will require no common, or feeble exertion 
of his will, to force himself back again, into the 
path of intellectual duty, now made repulsive, by 
the gay and thoughtless pleasure of which he has 
been quaffing. It is much easier to play the dancing 
dandy, than to earn distinction by ploughing glebes 
of classic lore, or mastering the difficulties of a 
profession ; and, this, with the fact, that those shallow 
accomplishments are more prized, by many, than that 
which is enduring, and of real worth, which has, no 
doubt, induced many a young man, who might have 
filled a useful place in society, to take the easier road 
to unenviable distinction, and rely on his ball-room 
accomplishments, to secure for him, among the 
admirers of such great qualities, both a companion 
and a fortune. Instances are not wanting, in which 
a successful debut in the ball-room, has rendered a 
young man utterly worthless for ever after. 

The moral evils, however, of this fashionable folly, 
are still more to be depreciated than either of the classes 
of evil named. And most of the reasoning applied to 
the other phases of the subject, are equally in place here. 
So, what tends to injure the health, or destroy the life, 
if wilfully persisted in, is sinful in the sight of God ; 
and what tends to the dissipation of the mind, and to 
the filling of it with chaffy, frivolous trash, must be 
still more detrimental to moral improvement, and 



246 



AMUSEMENTS. 



religious enjoyment, than, even, to intellectual. The 
ball room is an exhibition, where men and women go to 
exhibit themselves for admiration and excitement ; 
and all that can be made to bear on these objects, is 
resorted to ; and person, dress, manners, spirit, and 
action, are all exhibited to accomplish the proposed 
end. Hence, the body is distorted, or exposed, even, 
sometimes, to its own martyrdom, to impress the 
beholder with an idea of the beauty of its form and 
proportions ; and, when the admirer turns to look 
again upon that enchanting loveliness, it is the banquet 
of the loathsome grave worm. But, without carrying 
these items severally out to their results, let us take 
the case of a young lady, just coming out to take her 
place in the great world of fashion. We may suppose 
she has been reared by religious parents, but, who 
regard dancing as an innocent amusement, and pretty 
accomplishment. She receives her first invitation to a 
great dancing party, and the note which conveys it 
causes her heart to palpitate with hope and fear. 
Consent is given by the parents, and now comes the 
preparation. To attend a fashionable ball, without an 
elegant ball-dress, and other appropriate accompani- 
ments, is not to be thought of ; and, to save the 
idolized daughter from mortification, her appareling 
must be equal, in splendor and costliness, to the very 
chiefest. Hence follows a criminal squandering of 
money, to feed the pride and flatter the vanity of the 
daughter ; or, it may be, an embarrassing debt is 
contracted for this worthy object. A week is to 
intervene before the coming off of the grand fete; 
and how is that week appropriated ? The poor child 



DANCING. 



247 



has, perhaps, been taught to think herself religious ; 
but how much religion does she enjoy, or manifest, 
during that period of preparation ? Does she attempt 
to pray? Cotillions and waltzes swim through her 
imagination ; and God is not in all her thoughts. 
Does she attempt to join in singing the praise of God, 
in family or church devotion ? Another music, now, 
to her more interesting, fills her mind. Does she 
try to meditate ? Dresses, jewelry, gauze, and lace, 
entangle her reflections, and her thoughts take not hold 
on heaven. 

The time at length arrives; and her little heart 
swells almost to bursting with perturbation and the 
play of conflicting passions. She has danced many 
a time, as a child, at dancing school, but never 
appeared before a gay multitude, as part and parcel of 
a public show ; her former exercises were only in 
preparation for this great event, and she now painfully 
fears for the result of the experiment, she so ardently 
desires to make, and almost wishes she had not been 
invited. She may lack presence of mind, or may 
commit some serious blunder, or make an utter 
failure, and die of mental mortification; in short, she 
knows not what to do ; her feelings are uncontrolable, 
and never did she feel, so much, the need of help 
and direction. Perhaps her Sunday school recollection 
brings to her mind — " Commit thou all thy ways 
unto Him, and He shall direct thy steps ;" but, poor 
child, she cannot do what she is about, " in the name 
of the Lord Jesus," and, therefore, can claim the aid 
of none of God's great and precious promises. She 
dares not ask God for his help, or his blessing, but 



248 



AMUSEMENTS. 



must rely on herself entirely, Oh, daughters ! 
whenever you get to a point where you cannot ask 
God's blessing, and claim his succor, be intreated to 
pause, and turn back instantly, as you value peace 
of conscience, and the hope of heaven. 

But, finally, her toilet is completed, and she goes, 
without daring even to think a prayer for the blessing 
of God, to the gay whirlpool, which has swept down 
thousands to ruin, and casts herself into the midst 
of its dizzying whirl. All is brightness and glitter 
around her ; brilliant lights, sparkling eyes, winning 
smiles, flattering speeches, splendid ladies, elegant 
gentlemen, exhilarating music, mellow wines, luxuriant 
viands, all combine to cast her into a wild delirium 
of mental intoxication. She feels unlike her former 
self — afloat, and in the whirl, her excitement intense 3 
and her moral balance lost — but, whither she is drifting, 
she knows not, and is too happy, in the gaiety and 
adulation with which she is surrounded, to think of any 
thing but the present dreamy bliss. In such a 
state of pleasing bewilderment, all the pores of the 
soul are thrown open, and temptation, angelically 
arrayed, is rather invited than resisted. She is 
relying, alone, on her own strength ; but, of that 
strength, she is, unconsciously, shorn; and it will be 
a miracle of mercy, if that poor girl leaves the 
enchanted castle without having her principles of piety 
and morality weakened at some point. And still she 
drives before the gale ; excitement nerves her for 
exertion, and set after set, she continues to dance on, 
until breaking dawn calls " man to go forth to his 
labor, and beasts of prey to lie down in their dens," 



DANCING. 



249 



She at length leaves the scene of fairy enchantment, 
and is escorted to her home by a worthless fopling, 
whose only commendation is his pedal attributes, and 
his arts of flattery ; but these are all to her now ; 
intellectual excellence, and moral qualities, she now 
looks on as too tame and common place to shine in the 
new firmament in which she has just been enstalled 
" a bright particular star." Her imagination excited, 
her passions stimulated and perverted, she lends a 
willing ear, and a confiding heart, to the honeyed words 
of the plausible deceiver. But, suppose that, in her 
mental intoxication, she is not betrayed into any 
violation of the proprieties of life, yet, could that 
fluttering little heart, before so innocent, be now 
rendered transparent, and be exhibited before the 
company in which she has shone, with all its vain and 
evil imaginings, its passions indulged, and temptations 
unresisted, written truly, there never would she, 
again, hold up her head ; for, when moments of sober 
reflection return, she must confess to her own heart, 
that she has fallen, deeply fallen, in the tone of her 
moral feeling. 

But more: many of the very worst matches 
ever formed — matches which have victimized warm 
and confiding hearts to the cupidity or passion of 
worthlessness, could never have been made but by the 
aid of the ball-room's delirious inebriation. It is, 
indeed, a match-making machinery throughout, but, of 
the very worst and most dangerous character ; for its 
office is to bring the sexes together in matrimonial 
alliance ; not by the power of sober reason and pure 
reflection, but by preternaturally exciting the passions ; 



230 



AMUSEMENTS. 



thus imbruting our natures, and dishonoring the holy 
ordinance of marriage. 

After a brief, disturbed, feverish sleep, our young lady 
arises ; but, oh ! how changed in feeling and appear- 
ance. The fountains of thought and feeling have been 
tainted, and her very countenance wears a look of 
dissipation. If she would kneel to God in morning 
prayer, as was her wont, she feels that her access is 
obstructed, or quite cut off by the heart-sins of her 
revel ; and, probably, she either abandons prayer entirely, 
or returns to her former course of duty, renouncing 
the scenes which have deeply wounded her conscience, 
and robbed her of her innocence and peace. For, 
unless the pleasures of the ball-room be loved, they 
cannot be enjoyed, and will not be followed ; but, if the 
heart be imbued with the love of those sensual pleasures, 
they will banish the love of God, of duty, and devotion. 

We call them " sensual pleasures," and such they 
are, whatever has been said to the contrary, as any one 
who analyzes at all must confess. The dress, the music, 
the conversation, the beverages, and the dance, are all 
so many appeals to the passions and animal appetites. 
It has been said, with strong semblance of truth, that 
the standard rule for a ball dress is, so to dispose it as 
to give the fullest scope to the imagination, without 
going so far as to repel and disgust, by leaving the 
imagination too little play. The music, too, is of the 
most exciting kind — and the power of music to stir the 
passions, when well adapted to that end, is very great. 
And besides, in a large proportion of cases, the lively 
music performed on those occasions, is known to be set 
to words of voluptuousness or sensuality, such as 



DANCING. 



251 



decency would exclude from genteel society ; jet, though 
the air only is discoursed by the instruments, the mind's 
associations call up the ivords and wake the passions. 
And much of the conversation of these assemblies 
consists of a sort of diplomatic play of double-entendre, 
in which, as in the instance of dress, the language is 
susceptible of a chaste meaning, but so framed as to 
carry the thoughts beyond, in regions of less purity. 

With regard to drinks, who ever saw a fashionable 
ball without wine, at least, if not other intoxicating 
beverages? And when a young man or woman goes 
to a ball, it is to enjoy it, in all its elements ; nay, it 
would appear little short of ridiculous affectation in 
one to go for all the other indigencies of the place, 
and yet profess scrupulousness on the subject of drinks. 
And, if he should, the other co-operating forces will 
probably soon show Mm his inconsistency, and lead him 
to a free participation in this also. This stirs the 
blood, and inflames the passions, and has been the 
source of incalculable mischiefs in the ball room. Men, 
never intoxicated elsewhere, have fallen by this gilded 
snare ; and many a sot, who now dishonors the name 
of a reputable family, received his first impulse in that 
fearful direction, in the gay assembly room, and from 
the potation, perhaps, administered by fair hands to 
his then reluctant hps. And quiet as it is kept, 
many a lady fair, under the combined power of all the 
other exciting influences of the place and occasion, 
has been led to quaff quite too deeply of the wine cup. 
And when the heart is first intoxicated with deceitful 
pleasures, there is no grosser form of the vice into 
which we are not in danger of being led. Hence, in 



252 



AMUSEMENTS. 



instances innumerable, young men, under the power 
of these strong excitements, have attempted to show 
themselves off as men of spirit, by offering insults to 
others, or by promptly resenting, as such, what were 
not insults ; and the earth has drunk much blood, that 
has flown as the result of fool-born quarrels of the 
assembly room. 

But is the dance, itself, the ostensible object of the 
whole affair ? is it any purer in nature and tendency 
than its accompaniments ? 

Could we divest dancing of all the sanction of 
custom, or had we never seen or heard of such an 
amusement, every man of sense, and woman of 
modesty, would instantly pronounce it grossly immodest, 
and not to be tolerated in civilized society. The 
artfully arranged pantomime, the turns, the touching 
passes, the advance and retreat, the oft repeated grasp, 
and pressure of the hand, the swimming waltz per- 
formed in each other's embrace,* all these have a 

* On the subject of waltzing, we take leave to make a 
quotation from one of the most respectable literary periodicals 
of the country, and one very far removed from bigotry, or 
religious strictness. The editor does not make it a question of 
morals, but simply one of decency. 

"We claim to be neither old nor ascetic, nor even jealous 
of those amusements in which -we are neither ' accomplished ' nor 
ashamed to participate ; but we are compelled to say, that the 
modern fashion of waltzing is an indecent exhibition, that ought 
to be imperatively banished from respectable drawing-rooms. 
It is one of those foreign importations, that never should have 
been encouraged by the class of citizens who give character 
and tone to American society. It had its origin in the volup- 
tuous orgies of the ungodly Parisians, and is a gross scandal 
even to that city of licentiousness. It is nothing but a hug and 



DANCING. 



253 



natural language, more eloquent in its appeal to the 
passions than its translation into words could be. 
Why is it, if this pure and rational enjoyment has not 
its source in the love of animal excitement, that, in all 
its forms and phases, the bringing of the sexes into 
personal contact in various manners is indispensable, is 
the real sine qua non? If exercise, or even pedal 
dexterity, were the primary objects, this would not 
be necessary. Probably, no modest young girl ever 
did witness a fashionable dance, by men and women for 
the first time, without an involuntary blush. 

We would not, however, ascribe the bad motives 
in which, doubtless, this amusement originated, to all 
those who engage in it, nor all the bad effects which 
it is naturally calculated to produce ; the object, here, 
is to state the matter in a just and truthful light, with- 
out applying the subject to individual cases. 

a whirl ; and when a couple embrace for such a violent per- 
formance, modesty would suggest that every other person should 
leave the room. And yet, this waltzing, seems to be the entire 
end and aim of the lives of all the ' fashionable young men,' of 
iNew York. Many of them, we presume, have whirled through 
space enough during the past season, if reduced to a straight line, 
to reach across the Alantic. So accustomed are they to this 
ridiculous motion, that they cannot even walk the streets without 
teetering upon their toes. How unlike the stalwart youth, who 
became the heroes of the Revolution, and the Fathers of the 
Republic ! What a miserable muster these dainty snips would 
make, on an occasion to ' try men's souls !' Their children, too, 
if they ever have any, will be born to an inheritance of feebleness, 
and grow up candidates for the poor house. Oh, for the good old 
days of Sir Roger de C overly ! when strength, and not effeminacy, 
was considered the highest attribute of manhood. Think of Richard 
of the Lion Heart, and then look at a Broadway dancing dandy." 



CHAPTER XX. 

AMUSEMENTS.— DANCING— CONTINUED. 

The experience and consciousness of Christians, who have tried 
it, condemn the practice — The refining influence of dancing 
considered — Dancing an amusement of uncivilized men, lacking 
mental enjoyments — The propriety of teaching children to dance 
considered — Innocence of dancing, "in itself," considered — The 
world expects better things of us, at this day. 

A practical testimony, as to the character and 
influence of dancing, may be found, in the fact, 
that, whenever a devotee of this alluring amusement 
becomes deeply convicted of sin, this is one of the 
things, he, in all cases, feels called on, by his 
conscience, to repent of; and, when such an one 
becomes soundly converted to God, his back is as 
certainly turned on his old idol, as that of a converted 
Hindoo is on Juggernaut, when he fully embraces 
Christ ; and, in all cases, when a professor of religion 
falls in love with dancing, he ceases to enjoy the life 
of God in his soul, and, in nearly all, he openly 
abandons all pretensions to religion. And, further, 
we have never known a professor of religion to 
become the advocate, or even apologist, of dancing, 
until he had, at least, grown cold, or entirely backslid, 
in religion. In this case, every one who has had 
experience in the matter, has, within himself, a certain 
consciousness, that this amusement is at war with 



DANCING. 



255 



religious enjoyment, and has been injurious to his 
or her soul ; and, where consciousness — which is the 
highest evidence, and foundation, of all other- — is the 
rule of conscience, there the latter may be safely 
relied on, as a sure guide ; but, conscience, guided 
by unerring consciousness, does testify against this 
amusement ; and, it is only by blunting the sensibility 
of conscience, that it will allow any peace to one, 
in pursuing such a course. It is, indeed, absurd 
to suppose, that one enamored of the loveliness of 
religion, and engrossed with its sublime enjoyments 
and prospects, should find comfort and pleasure in 
that which regards not God, tends to let down 
the intellectual nature, and sensualizes the whole 
man. 

But, still it is contended for, as necessary to 
polish and refine men. This we shall be better able 
to appreciate, by analyzing the matter, down to its 
elements. It does not refine, as regards morals, for 
it has no moral code of its own, and has existed 
under all the bloody and barbarous moral codes, as 
well as all the more civilized, of every age and 
country. Nor does it refine the mental faculties, 
seeing it affords no food for intellectuality, but has 
respect, only, to the animal and social qualities 
of our nature. Then, it is the manners, and the 
motions, which are to be brought under its refining 
power. Very well ; but, is it dancing, itself, or 
its incidents, or accompaniments, to which we are 
indebted, for a refining agency? If the latter, they 
are not dependent oh the act of dancing for their 
existence, and can operate independently of it as 



256 



AMUSEMENTS. 



effectually as in connection with it ; for, whether it 
be the music, the wine, the improving conversation, 
the " good society," or the apparelling, each and 
all of these can be enjoyed, and then- refining benefits 
received, without any action of the fete, or, at least, 
any such as is called dancing, as effectually as with 
it. How, then, does dancing, itself, refine society, 
with regard to manners ? ~No way. For, though 
in connection with dancing, intercourse with polite 
society may improve the manners, and really does 
so, it will hardly be contended, that refined manners 
are to be found only in dancing society ; and, if to be 
found in other associations of life, then it can be had 
there, without going to the dancing saloon for it. 
And, as it respects the grace of motion, it is, at best, 
but an inferior accomplishment, too dearly purchased, * 
when procured at the cost — moral and. mental — 
usually attendant on its attainment through that 
channel. But, though the genuflections of body, 
taught in dancing, may instruct the pupil how to 
perform certain movements, yet, these are but dancing 
movements, and have little to do with even the grace 
of motion, as applicable to the ordinary intercourses 
of society. So, military discipline teaches the grace 
of motion, even more effectually than dancing does; 
but, it is military grace, for which men have, in 
the usual walks and duties of life, about as much 
use, as for the dancing grace. They may be appre- 
ciated by the soldier and the dancer, but other 
portions of society cannot readily be made to feel 
their importance, or to estimate those who possess 
them, above all others, simply on that account. 



DANCING. 



It is true, that, to exercise the limbs and body 
freely, and frequently, tends to ease and freedom of 
action, but is no more true of dancing than of other 
exercises ; and, it were easy to prescribe a system of 
exercise, which, in this respect, would be much better 
than ordinary dancing. In point of fact, no lady, 
or gentleman, can be known to be an accomplished 
dancer, simply by then* superior grace of action in 
other spheres ; and a grace, designed only for display, 
which cannot be recognized by its own exhibition, 
is valueless, in the estimation of all, save its own 
possessor. In short, well educated men and women, 
accustomed to intercourse with good society, though 
they may never have seen a ball-room, or a dancing 
school, are found to possess as much refinement of 
manners, and as much appropriate ease, grace, and 
dignity of motion, as Celeste, Elssler, or any of 
their humble worshippers. It has, to be sure, been 
often remarked, that some who have acquired this 
refining grace, indicate its possession by an affectation 
of airs and graces differing from others ; but, even 
in this instance, the high attainment is not so much 
known by its own manifestation, as by its announce- 
ment on the part of the possessor. 

But, as the idea, that dancing is a necessary 
accomplishment in good society, and one belonging 
to a high state of civilization and refinement — we 
say, as this idea is inducing many Christian parents 
to lead then* children into most perilous temptations — • 
we will follow it up a little farther. There are 
arts, sciences, literature, and even vices, peculiar 

to cultivated and highlv civilized society: and this 

22 



258 



AMUSEMENTS. 



fact, might, naturally enough, be expected to give 
those things character and rank, even above their 
merits; but, dancing has no such claim. So far 
from being peculiar to a high state of refinement, 
it is, and, from the earliest dawn of history, ever 
has been, the universal attendant on every degree 
of barbarism, even the very lowest. There is no 
people so imbruted, so ignorant, so rude, as not 
to be addicted to the accomplishment of dancing. 
And the fact explains itself; it is an unintellectual 
amusement, productive of animal excitement, and 
ministering food to the passions ; and, is, therefore, 
peculiarly adapted to the tastes, condition, and 
morality, of barbarous people, who neglect mental 
and moral culture, and look for enjoyment, only, 
to animal appetites and passions. 

Now, we of the nineteenth, century — and Christians, 
too — are going back to the savages of four thousand 
years ago, to learn, from them, refinement and 
accomplishments ! Did dancing refine them ? If not, 
how is it to have any better effect on us ? We are 
not so generally dancers as they were, nor have 
we attained any thing like equal perfection, in the 
noble art. Again: the negroes in your kitchen, or 
quarter, are, by nature and practice, better dancers 
than their owners. They learn, even by stealth, 
new and difficult dances, more readily than those 
who devote their time and money to the acquisition. 
Their organs of time and tune are more perfect ; 
and, in their performances, there is an exactness, 
greatly excelling the Caucasian race. Are they, 
therefore, more refined than we? Still further; 



DANCING. 



259 



there can scarcely be found a ball, or dancing party, 
but is dependent on a negro fiddler, not only for 
their music, but also for instructions — words of 
command — directing their movements; and, without 
which, they could not proceed in their rational 
amusement. A company of wealthy and educated 
ladies and gentlemen, would feel greatly humbled, 
in having to put themselves under the instruction 
of an ignorant negro, in any matter of science 
or literature ; but, there is appropriateness in the 
arrangement, in this case, because, the whole is an 
animal affair; and, where the mere human animal 
can be procured, to direct the machinery, it seems 
more fit, than to degrade an intellectual being to 
such a vocation. 

But, says a Christian parent, "I am opposed to 
balls and public dancing parties, but I think there is no 
harm in dancing itself, and, especially, I think it very 
proper, in children, to dance, and, therefore, I allow 
mine to attend dancing school." Now, if we under- 
stand you, you are teaching your children to dance, as 
children, and do not intend them to continue the 
practice in adult years. If this be true, well may 
your children pray you "Lead us not into temptation;" 
for, the idea of educating or qualifying persons, at 
a great expense of time and money, to do something 
they are never to do after childhood, is, in itself, 
a contradiction so glaring, that even children cannot 
fail to see it, and to doubt the sincerity of your 
professions in the matter. You give your son a 
profession, but you do not intend him to follow it ; or, 
more in point, you teach your son to drink intoxicating 



260 



AMUSEMENTS. 



liquors, as a child, but you would not, on any account, 
have him to drink, after reaching manhood, lest he 
should become a drunkard; you teach him to play 
at games of chance, and to bet on the result, as 
a child, but you would rather see him in his grave, 
than see him a gambler, as a man. How absurd: 
you say, in a manner more strong than words — 
that is by your whole course of conduct — that 
you wish your daughter to become a dancer, in the 
one case, as you do in the others of your son, that you 
desire him to be a drunkard or a gambler; and the 
feeble contradiction of this by your words, can have no 
effect, in the least, to check the natural tendencies 
of your conduct, in producing its legitimate results. 
If you so educate your daughter, unless she happens 
to take a dislike to the refining accomplishment, or 
to get a better stock of true religion than her parent 
now has, she will be eager to go to the first public ball 
to which she may be invited ; and, unless your own 
growth in grace prevents it, you will, as surely, grant 
her the privilege as she asks it, though you may, for 
appearance sake, disguise your consent, in some 
convenient form for your protection from censure. 
And remember, oh, foolish father or mother, that, into 
whatever sins or follies your daughter may fall, in this 
perilous adventure, for them God will hold you 
accountable at the judgment of the great day. If you 
cannot send your child to dancing school, " in the 
name of the Lord Jesus," you cannot do it at all with 
a good conscience. You can pray, and so ought to do, 
for God's blessing on the proper studies of your child : 
can you do this, when you start her to dancing school, 



AMUSEMENTS. 



261 



to learn folly, vanity, and irreligion ? You dare not 
do it, and, thus, insult heaven. Then refrain from 
your evil and dangerous course. 

As to the harmfulness, or innocence of " dancing, in 
itself," as the favorite phrase is, it is not necessary to 
debate the point, until you show us the thing. If 
young ladies were in the habit, for example, of shutting 
themselves up in their rooms, alone, and dancing 
to circulate their blood, with no intention of ever being 
seen in such performance, it is not probable that there 
would be much complaint about it; but who dances 
alone, except by way of practising for a public 
exhibition ? This is dancing " in itself," if the phrase 
means any thing ; and, whether harm, or not, no one 
practises it. Even at the children's dancing school, 
you have nothing like dancing "in itself;" for, in the 
first place, your little daughter will not go at all, unless 
you minister to her young pride and vanity, by dressing 
her finely; and, when there, her little child's heart 
is excited with emulation, ambition, vanity of perfor- 
mance, and, already, she is luxuriating in anticipation 
of the eclat she is to secure, and the conquests she is to 
make in the ball room, when she becomes a young 
lady. So, that what you contend for, has no 
existence; and, what you wish to protect yourself in 
finds no countenance from that quarter. 

A darker age did exist, in which the Churches 
tolerated this evil to their great detriment : but now, 
enlightened non-professors generally condemn it, in 
Christians, as inconsistent with their profession, though 
many cold professors advocate it. We happened to be 
present, when a Church member advocated dancing in 



232 



DANCING. 



presence of a most accomplished dancer, and highly 
cultivated lady, apparently, with the expectation of 
securing her approbation for his liberality. She 
responded, that she was very fond of dancing, and 
thought it not amiss in her ; but, said she, " should I 
ever make a profession of religion, I should think it 
exceedingly improper in me to engage in any such 
frivolous amusements." The world knows what our 
holy religion demands ; and, when we advocate what 
they believe God condemns, they, very naturally, lose 
confidence in our Christian profession. Let us take 
heed, therefore, lest we be found standing in the way 
of sinners. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AMUSEMENTS.— THE THEATRE. 



Theatrical amusements have been in use for, say, 2400 years— Of 
Grecian origin—Referred to celebrations of Bacchus — Notice of 
those orgies — A car, or cart, the first stage — then the temple 
of Bacchus — Account of early Theatres — Success in tragic com- 
position and acting decided by judges — Comedy much less 
respectable — Roman drama derived from the festival of Harvest 
Home — in several respects resembling the rites of Bacchus — 
Notice of Roman dramatists — Difference between ancient and 
modem drama, in favor of the former — Neither history, eloquence, 
nor morality to be gained there — Shakspeare deficient in purity — 
The notion of reproving vice in this way fallacious — Cannot be 
taken in the name of the Lord Jesus, and, therefore, improper for 
Christians. 

Amusements. — The Theatre. — Perhaps no amuse- 
ment, dancing excepted, has so long held ascendency 
over the minds and hearts of thoughtless millions, as 
theatrical exhibitions. This amusement is of Grecian 
origin, and its commencement is referred to the sixth 
century, before Christ, say, 2400 years ago. A 
hurried glance at the origin, and early history of the 
Drama, may be interesting to some, and may be of 
service in enabling us to estimate its value justly. 

All writers, so far as we know, trace theatrical 
representations to the Grecian custom of celebrating 
the praises of Bacchus, the god of wine. The festivals 



264 



AMUSEMENTS. 



of Bacchus were celebrated in the grape season, not 
only by "joyous dances, and the chanting of hymns, " 
but, " with riots and excess. The priestesses, called 
Bacchantes, ran wild upon the mountains, with 
dishevelled hair, and torches in their hands, filling 
the air with shouts, and chanting hymns to his praise. 
During their celebration, the people ran about the city 
in masks, or with their faces daubed with the dregs 
of wine."* " The feast of Bacchus were noisy, and 
those who attended them were often intoxicated. These 
feasts were called Bacchanalia, Revels, and Orgies, "f 
" They covered themselves with the skins of wild 
beasts — had drums, horns, pipes, and other instruments 
calculated to make a great noise. Men and women 
ridiculously dressed, appeared night and day in public ; 
and, imitating drunkenness, and dancing with the most 
indecent gestures, ran in throngs about the mountains 
and forests, screaming and howling furiously ; the 
women, especially, seem more outrageous than the men, 
and, quite out of their senses, in their furious transports, 
invoked the god with loud cries. To these ceremonies, 
others were added, obscene to the last excess, and 
worthy the god who chose to be honored in such a 
manner. The spectators gave in to the prevailing 
humor, and were seized with the same frantic spirit. 
Nothing was seen but dancing, drunkenness, debauchery, 
and all that the most abandoned licentiousness can 
conceive of, gross and abominable." J Plato declared, 
that he had, on these occasions, seen " the whole city 
of Athens drunk at once." 



* History of Greece. f Mythology. % Rolin. 



THE THEATRE, 



265 



In a soil thus prolific of crime the most shameless, 
grew up the Drama-— miscalled, the " school of morals," 
and has generally been productive of a class of morals, 
little in conflict with those of the obscene orgies from 
which it emanated. 

Thespis, by way of adding something to the rational 
amusements of the Bacchanalia, introduced the custom 
of having one speaker, or actor, to appear before the 
multitude, and amuse them with recitations. For 
convenience, he contrived a sort of car, or cart, in which 
the recitations were delivered ; and this was the first 
form of the stage. Soon, however, the Thespian cart 
was superceded by a permanent stage, which, most 
appropriately, was established in the temple of the 
drunken god — Bacchus. 

More actors were added to the lone reciter of the 
cart ; masks, dresses, and scenery were introduced ; and 
soon a regular theatre grew up, upon which little real 
improvement has been made for the last two thousand 
years. Indeed, the theatre of two thousand years ago, 
possessed some points of decided superiority, over that 
of this day. Instead of shutting up the auditors, in the 
exhausted and unhealthy atmosphere of a crowded 
room, for half the night, the Grecians assembled in the 
morning, in the pure open air — usually, on a hill-slope, 
enclosed only by a wall ; and their theatre was, also, a 
place for the populace to meet in, on great public 
occasions, .and to deliberate on matters of great im- 
portance. It was not with them, a mercenary, catch- 
penny business, on the part of actors or managers, and 
a contrivance for wasting time and money on the part 

of speculators ; but the whole community was invited to 

99 



2(3G 



AMUSEMENTS. 



meet during a festival, in which they were wont to 
suspend labor, to witness a contest of talent — of intel- 
lectual power, between the authors of the various pieces 
brought forward for exhibition ; in which contest the 
actors were merely agents for, and secondary to, the 
authors; and, at the close, an award of honor was 
given, by appointed judges, to him whose tragedy pos- 
sessed the highest merit." How very different was this 
from the applause of boot heels, and walking sticks, 
awarded by an enlightened audience of this day, to the 
buffoonery, or mountebankism of talentless buskined 
loafers. 

This approving award of the judges was the highest 
ambition of the great dramatic writers. It was the 
glory of iEschylus, that he held ascendency by their 
decree, till his fifty-sixth year : and of Sophocles, that the 
judges, twenty times, conferred on him the crown of 
victory, for superior merit in that department of com- 
position. But, neither these, nor Euripides, ever 
contended, so far as we know, for a prize in the depart- 
ment of comedy, which they seem to have regarded 
as beneath the employment of great mental powers, 
and which is said to have been, " little else than mere 
mountebank exhibitions." Of the first comedian, it 
is stated, that " he wandered about the villages of 
Attica, with a company of buffoons, reciting ludicrous 
compositions on a temporary stage." 

It is, evidently, this class of dramatists, and not the 
more grave and polished authors of Grecian tragedy, 
to whom nearly all the present race of actors can 
claim successorship. Much of what was written by 
iEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, would be as 



THE THEATRE. 



267 



unsuited to the talents of present actors, as to the 
tastes of present play-goers, and as unacceptable to 
both, as a moral homily. Aristophanes was almost the 
only Grecian name of note that was lent to the un- 
worthy cause of comic caricature. 

In Rome, as in Greece, the drama cannot boast 
a very honorable origin, nor a very pure and virtuous 
line of succession. It originated in the Roman festival 
of " Harvest home," an observance, in many points, 
resembling the Grecian Bacchanalian rites. Rome, by 
commencing her dramatic career with comedy, fixed 
the popular taste, unchangeably, in favor of that low, 
and less intellectual class of plays. 

The three Roman dramatic writers, who enjoyed 
reputation above all others, were, Livius Andronicus, 
Plautus, and Terence. Andronicus was the first 
Roman writer of regular comedy. He was a freed 
man, and acted in his own plays; "though the 
Roman law declared the profession of an actor 
infamous, and deprived those who exercised it of 
the rights of citizens." Plautus, who was son of a 
freed man, enjoyed a much higher reputation than 
any of his predecessors ; yet, a distinguished critic 
(La Harp) has said of him, that he was " disgusting 
in style and dialogue, and mingling with his wit 
and humor too much low buffoonery." And Dunlop 
(History of Literature) says of his plays, " They 
hinge, for the most part, on the love of some dissolute 
youth for a courtezan; his employment of a slave, 
to defraud a father of a sum of money, sufficient 
to supply his expensive pleasures ; and, the final 
discovery, that his mistress is a free-born citizen." 



268 



AMUSEMENTS. 



Schlegel also says of him, that his "bold roughness, 
and his famed jests, betray his intercourse with 
the lowest classes." Terence, to be sure, though 
originally an African slave, was more refined than 
any of his predecessors ; successors he had none, 
for he was the last of his class, of any respectability. 
He, however, seems to have aspired to nothing above 
comedy ; and, in his productions were many things, 
far from possessing the elevation and purity, proper 
for leading the public taste and principles in a 
right direction. x 

We have noted these items, in the early history 
of the drama in Greece and Rome, because, many 
of our readers are presumed to be unacquainted 
with them ; and many persons have been taught 
to look on the classic spring-head of the drama, 
as possessing a dignity and purity little less than 
divine. 

It is claimed, to be sure, for the modern drama, 
that its improvements have kept pace with the march 
of mind, and the progress of society; but, whether 
the claim be well founded, remains to be established. 
Points of difference are sufficiently discernible; but, 
in the more important particulars, the comparison 
appears, to us, against the modern. With the ancients, 
unity in the whole plot, and all its details, was a 
capital object. The spectator's attention was never 
called off, nor even permitted to wander, from the 
subject in hand ; all the parts of the play were 
intimately related, and attention was kept directly 
to the subject, from beginning to ending. This 
required a closeness of thought, not well suited to 



THE THEATRE. 



269 



the ideas of perfect relaxation from mental exercise, 
which seem to prevail among modern patrons of the 
theatre. Accordingly, in the modern drama — and, 
especially, the English — intervals, extraneous matter, 
and a vast extent of time, are brought into the 
play, to give variety and interest : but, unity is 
sacrificed. A dramatic hero may now exhibit the 
exploits of many years, if not centuries, in a single 
hoar; and, it would hardly be inconsistent with the 
genius of the modern stage, for the buskined hero 
to capture Tyre, Babylon, and Chepultepec, in the 
same play. 

But, it is time, that we examine the claims of 
the theatre, as a school of morals and of eloquence, 
and source of general information. 

As to the historical information the theatre is said 
to impart, the plays containing it have so large an 
admixture of fiction thrown in, to interest and please 
— such a disregard of all historical unities, such an 
amount of misrepresentations and unfilled chasms — 
that the spectator must be quite familiar with the 
part of the history which forms the nominal basis 
of the play, or must refer to the bill, to even know 
to whom, or to what, it alludes. The spectator 
will be very likely to be led into historical errors; 
but, reliable information he cannot obtain from so 
apocryphal a source. 

As to true eloquence, the theatre is among the 
last places at which it can be learned. It has, we 
own, a certain style of elocution and oratory ; but, 
even these are suited only to the stage — studied 
and artificial, extravagant in gesture, unnatural and 



270 



AMUSEMENTS. 



violent in expressions of passion. In proof of what 
we have asserted, it is an acknowledged fact, that, 
so far from recognizing the stage, as a standard, its 
elocution is rejected in every other department, even 
by the votaries of the theatre ; and, to say of a 
speaker, in the pulpit, at the bar, at the hustings, 
or the forum, that his oratory, his manner, his 
gestures, are theatrical, is a verdict of condemnation, 
by the universal suffrage of the civilized world. 
Indeed, it is looked on, by all other public speakers, 
as little less than actionably slanderous, to speak 
of them as theatrical in their oratory. And this is 
the school in which we are recommended to learn 
true eloquence, by looking on, and listening, while 
an uneducated popinjay performs his part in eloquent 
spasms, and " tears a passion to rags, to very 
tatters." 

There have, it is true, been a few men of real 
talent, and a smaller number of well educated men, 
on the stage; but, the proportion is exceedingly 
small, and even they are compelled, by the law 
of custom, to pursue the same general course with 
others. 

As to the morality taught on the stage, the 
whole pretence is delusive ; there is no such teaching 
there. True, there are good moral sentiments sparsely 
scattered through some of the better plays, but so 
buried among the rubbish of corruption and licen- 
tiousness, as to be more than neutralized. We are 
told, that vice is there exhibited in its odiousness, 
and ■'that the lessons of warning are impressive and 
useful. Aye, truly ; treachery, robbery, intrigue, 



THE THEATRE . 



271 



seduction, and murder, are to be rendered odious 
to the young, by familiarizing both their exhibition 
and the artifices attendant on them, to the mind and 
the feelings; and, the good effect is of the same 
kind with that resulting from familiarizing the public 
eye, and mind, with capital executions. And then, 
too, those crimes are usually seen on the stage, as 
occurring in high places, or under circumstances 
calculated to draw you into sympathy with the 
criminal. We have known many a moral and 
promising youth hopelessly corrupted, by attending 
the theatre ; but, we have never heard of one being 
reformed, or improved, by its vaunted lessons of 
morality. 

We speak not, now, of the abuses of the stage, 
but only of what is styled, par excellence, the 
"legitimate drama." And, even here, examine, for 
a moment, its best productions— say of the great 
master of the English dx2m&— Shakspeare ; and even 
in his plays are to be found many things inconsistent 
with refinement of taste, or purity of morals. His 
better heroes swear, sport, revel, fight— aye, his 
ladies of quality frequently exhibit traits of question- 
able propriety, and do not scruple to employ language 
so indelicate, as that its recital will cause a modest 
man to blush. And the lauded plays of Shakspeare, 
no man would dare to read in a circle of respectable 
ladies and gentlemen. Hence, expurgated editions 
have been published; and we have the "Family 
Shakspeare," in which the text is mutilated, inter- 
polations inserted, glosses added, and the work is 
quite a different thing from the original. This, 



272 



AMUSEMENTS. 



however, is done, chiefly for the benefit of the 
bookseller ; to give the Bible of the stage access 
to the centre-table of the parlor, rather than for 
the use, or improvement, of the theatre ; for, though 
a modest play-going lady— we must assume that 
there are such— would blush, as in duty bound, to 
have indelicate passages read from Shakspeare in the 
social circle, this fastidiousness is laid aside when 
she attends a theatrical representation; and, while 
the same offensive passages are brought out on 
the boards, and rendered doubly emphatic, by the 
circumstances and manner of exhibition, she holds 
up her head with blushless fortitude, smiles, criticizes, 
and applauds, with the nonchalance of a veteran 
connoisseur. 

It might not unreasonably be supposed, that modesty 
would tolerate that, in the circle of private friendship 
and social confidence, from which it would shrink 
in a popular assemblage of strangers ; but the modesty 
that enjoys, in the mixed multitude, with manifest gust 
and appetence, that from which it shrinks abashed in 
private society, may well be regarded as of ques- 
tionable purity. Custom, however, it must be con- 
ceded, perverts the order of nature, and reconciles 
the feelings to what was, naturally, abhorrent to them : 
If, then, we suppose that many females, who, from the 
force of custom and popular sentiment, engaged in 
the wild indecencies of the Bacchanalia, were pos- 
sessed of natural modesty, we must attribute the 
inconsistency, just above mentioned, on the part of 
modern females, rather to the inherent, perverting, 
and corrupting influence of the theatre, and to vitiated 



THE THEATRE. 



273 



popular taste generated by it, than to any original 
want of the coronet jewel of female virtue, on the part 
of our ladies. With this concession made, it must still 
be seen, that the theatre is the natural enemy and 
active destroyer of female purity. 

We have mentioned the name of Shakspeare, not 
in disrespect to his superior talents — for such he 
possessed pre-eminently- — but because he is, confessedly, 
the master spirit of the modern drama, and to show 
that even his productions, conforming to the taste and 
morals of his day, are not calculated to improve the 
morals, or tame the unruly passions, but rather the 
reverse. But, if it be desirable to possess ourselves 
of the lights and benefits of his productions, this can be 
more advantageously done by a calm, private reading 
of an expurgated edition of them, than by drinking 
from the unfiltered fount waters, that but acquire 
increased muddiness from the impurity of the conduits 
through which they flow to us in the theatrical 
reservoir. 

The notion, that vice can be effectually rebuked 
by a historical exhibition of it, which notion has been 
employed to give countenance to the theatre form, 
is entirely delusive. It was, in darker ages, believed, 
on the same principle, that the effectual mode of 
restraining vice in communities, was to make most 
offences capital ; and, by the number and barbarousness 
of public executions, to affright the multitude from 
crime by an exhibition of its punishment. This 
theory is now justly rejected ; for, it has been found, 
that the more familiar the public mind is made with 
public executions, the less are they, and the crimes 



274 



AMUSEMENTS. 



which lead to them, dreaded. It is as truthfully said, 
as poetically — 

" Vice is a monster of so hideous mem, 
As to be hated needs but to be seen; 
Yet seen too oft — familiar with her face — 
We first endure, then pity, then embrace." 

But, in truth, the argument, just now noticed, is the 
pretext, and not the cause of encouraging the drama. 
Can any man work his mind into a silly enough mood to 
believe, that ever a manager got up "Macbeth" to pre- 
vent his patrons from committing the crimes therein 
exhibited; that a moral man ever went to see it to 
guard himself against the crime of murder ; or, that a 
murderer ever sought to witness the mock assassination 
of Duncan, for the purpose of arousing his own con- 
science to a quickened sense of his guilt ? The very 
thought is absurd. The whole truth is, that the object 
of the manager is to get up whatever will produce him 
the most money ; and that of the play goer, to see that 
which will afford him the most amusement, the most 
excitement, without the least reference, on the part 
of either, to moral results, or any thing else, save the 
end suggested. 

But Christians, at least, should not get out of sight 
of our text : " Can this sort of diversion be used in the 
name of the Lord Jesus ?" What sort of a spectacle 
would a Christian lady present kneeling to God on the 
eve of setting out for the theatre ? Such a prayer 
might well set all Pandemonium agrin : — " 0 Lord, 
make my soul happy to-night at the theatre. To this 
end, pour thy Holy Spirit upon thy servant B , 



THE THEATRE. 



275 



that, in the edifying character of the pious 6 Sir 
John," he being kept bj thy blessed restraining grace, 
from getting too drunk to perform his part, may 
be made a blessing to me, and to all thy children 
assembled in thy name at the theatre. Bless the 
4 Merry Wives of Windsor,' throughout, to the 
strengthening of my graces ; and, especially, may 
the immodest language, and lascivious bearing of the 
services, be blessed to the crucifying of my unholy 
affections, and the sanctification of my nature !" 
All hell, responsive, echoes back, "Amen." 



CHAPTER XXII. 
AMUSEMENTS.— THE THEATRE — C ONTIN UED. 



The legitimate drama not tolerated, but low comedy, &c. — Actors 
generally not men of talents — talents find a surer and better 
reward in other departments — Few actors of high moral char- 
acter — Starring — detrimental to regular operations — could not 
succeed, but for general lack of talent among players — Devices 
for attracting attention — the press — Encouragement of courtesans 
— Associations of the Theatre unfit for Christians — Theatrical 
amusements waning in popularity. 

Amusements. — The Theatre. — If so little can be 
said in favor of the " legitimate drama," in its 
better condition, what have we to expect from the deep 
and grovelling degeneracy into which the stage has — 
very generally— if not universally — fallen, agreeably to 
the verdict, as well of candid and intelligent play- 
goers, as of the religious world ? It is an ac- 
knowledged fact, that the " legitimate drama" will not 
now be tolerated alone at all, and hardly, when connected 
with the grosser accompaniments with which it is 
associated. Low comedy, and vulgar farce, have taken, 
in a great measure, the place of the more sensible and 
rational class of plays ; while comic songs, remarkable 
neither for good sense, nor delicacy; and dancing, 
characterized not less by immodest exhibitions of person 



THE THEATRE. 



277 



and action, than by agility of motion, and perfection 
of muscular discipline, constitute the nominal auxiliaries, 
but real and paramount attractions of the theatre. If 
you select the most dignified and intellectual tragedy to 
be found in the language, and announce its performance 
to come off on a certain night, by a corpse dramatique 
the most talented to be found in the civilized world ; 
and then announce, that, on the same night, at another 
theatre, in the same city, a low comedy will be per- 
formed by a company of uneducated buffoons, to be 
followed by a dance ala Elder, by a female of question- 
able virtue, in a half denuded state, the whole to 
conclude with an " irresistible," negro song, by a 
performer whose face only — and not his mind — requires 
to be disguised, to personate to the life the lowest of the 
class he assumes the dignity of representing; and 
while, in the first case, the house will be thin, or empty, 
the other will present a full house, aye, a crowd — a 
rush. The first, has some respect to intellect ; the 
latter, is purely an animal affair, in which the spectators 
are supposed to possess animal appetites and passions 
to be excited, but are not, practically r , presumed to 
possess any higher attributes. 

With regard to actors of the present day, it is doing 
them no injustice to say, that, as a class, they possess 
talents which would not be likely to gain distinction in 
any other department, a very moderate amount of 
education, and little general intelligence outside of their 
respective parts in their particular profession. Indeed, 
neither the present respectability, nor remuneration of a 
stage actor, is calculated to secure talents, or mental 
culture of a high order ; such can find a surer and 



278 



AMUSEMENTS, 



better reward in professions which enjoy the higher 
respect of society, and leave open to them the door 
of prospective preferment. Actors constitute a class, 
and a caste to themselves, in a great measure ; and it is 
exceedingly difficult for them to pass out from it into 
other and more respected departments, or professions, if 
they would ; the odor of the sock and buskin attends 
them, and operates nothing to their advantage. And, 
who among respectable play-goers, regards the actors 
and actresses he so loudly applauds, as suitable 
associates for himself, his wife, and daughters ? Who 
among them, would be proud to marry his daughter to 
an actor, or to see his son a comedian, or the husband 
of an actress ? 

To say, that the grade of talent employed on the 
stage is quite mediocral, is but to say, that it is suited 
to its object ; for, though talent may shine to advantage 
in the lowest spheres, it certainly does not require that 
of a very high order to commit, recite, and act one's 
part of a play, especially, when the same words and 
gestures are to be gone through, throughout a whole 
professional life. 

As to the morals of actors, a few. a very small pro- 
portion, have sustained the reputation of a respectable 
worldly morality ; but the vast majority are regarded 
as profane, dissipated, dissolute, and utterly immoral ; 
the last men to be thought of as moral teachers, either 
by precept, or example. And in daily, and intimate 
association with men of such character, it is not at all 
astonishing, that an actress, free from grossly disreputa- 
ble imputations, is a vara avis. Actors and actresses, 
know right well the moral estimate placed on them as a 



THE THEATRE. 



279 



class, by community : the inference is, therefore, not 
unwarranted, that those who value an untarnished name, 
will not place themselves in a profession, the very 
embracing of which is deemed evidence, prima facia, 
of the loss, or lack of that priceless jewel, and, that 
those who do so, hold it in subordinate estimation. Yet, 
there have been in our day, and, probably, still are some 
on the stage, who, in the general acceptation of the 
term, are moral in conduct. Misfortune, bad counsel, 
or some other mischance, has given them that direction; 
but such are not very likely to remain there perma- 
nently, and even while they do, instances have not 
been wanting, in which their convictions of the evil 
tendencies of the theatre were such, that they have 
not permitted their own families to attend its exhibi- 
tions. 

And, likewise, there are a few men on the stage who 
possess real talents ; and, indeed, the pecuniary tempta- 
tion to such, is strong in proportion as talent is rare in 
that department ; for, they are not only enabled to soar 
above the common herd, but have the tempting oppor- 
tunity of " starring ," as it is technically styled. This 
starring, is said to have operated injuriously to the 
regular theatre ; because, while ■ the ordinary corpse 
wake up no interest in the public mind, the announce- 
ment of a "star," calls out a full house, which again 
falls off when the star disappears. This, however, is 
evidently, to some extent, a mistake ; a better explana- 
tion of the matter would be this : On the one hand, in 
proportion as the public taste has become purified, and 
the standard of morals elevated, the theatre has 
naturally become less popular with the better classes : 



280 



AMUSEMENTS. 



on the other, the demand for theatrical amusements 
having decreased, theatrical talent receives a less en- 
couraging remuneration, and, therefore, the standard 
of it falls low and lower ; and these two, operating 
mutually, as cause and effect, produce the result men- 
tioned; yet, when an actor of histrionic fame is an- 
nounced, curiosity, the love of novelty, and hope of 
agreeable excitement, draw out many who cannot be 
tempted by the every-day bill of fare of the local 
corpse. 

The degeneracy of the stage, then, has produced 
a diminution of its patronage ; the loss of patronage 
has produced a deterioration in the standard of 
theatrical talent; and the low measure of that standard, 
enables an actor of respectable talent to tower and 
attract, like an " oak among osiers." Starring, or 
giantizing, can only be successful when paucity of 
talent creates the demand ; for, a star excites no 
astonishment, in a firmament studded with myriads 
of equal brilliancy; a giant attracts no wondering 
gaze, where all are giants. But, if a lack of talent, 
and of morals, have given birth to starring, the 
offspring can subsist, or, at any rate, can only fatten, 
on the vitals of its own mother, and promises to 
consume the small fry, whose smallness gave it 
birth ; and, it may, and, we trust, will, be helpful, 
in the utter extermination of this spawn of Bacchus. 
It has, however, for so many hundreds of years, 
tyrannized over the weak and the dissolute, the 
seekers of animal excitement, and lovers of sensual 
pleasure, that every effort which interest, ingenuity, 
or sensuality, can suggest, is employed, to sustain 



THE THEATRE. 



281 



it still in being, at the cost of the dear interests of 
society — physical, pecuniary, intellectual, and moral. 
Some of these efforts, and devices, might well excite 
a smile, if they did not superinduce more painful 
sentiments. When these orgies — that, you recollect, 
was their original name — are to be performed in any 
city, town, or village, you may see every corner, post, 
and pillar, disfigured with their huge bills, or posters, 
proclaiming the wonderful talents, and unrivalled 
performances, of the company, in language the most 
fulsome and extravagant. Men, who could never 
have, hopefully, aspired to notice, in any other 
department, here see their names blazing out, in 
glaring capitals, in every public place, and in every 
newspaper of the city. 

But, " posters" are not the only form in which 
the aid of the press is invoked, to give importance 
to the actors, and success to their performances. 
A contract is usually made with the publisher of a 
newspaper, or papers, to print posters and small 
bills, for the daily use of the theatre; and, into 
the bargain, is taken, an agreement to publish an 
advertisement in the paper, daily, of the performances 
to come off. This is not enough, yet ; and the 
editors of the city have free tickets presented them, 
and they are expected to puff the individual actors, 
and to eulogize the whole performance, in the most 
approved and extravagant style. And, should this 
not be sufficient inducement, fully, to enlist the editor, 
if credible rumor may be believed, an additional 
bonus is frequently offered, as the price of his 
daily puffs. And, by looking into the papers, and 
24 



282 



AMUSEMENTS. 



particularly those that have the bill-printing, free 
tickets, and a bonus, you may see how faithfully 
and servilely they perform their part, as " nominated 
in the bond." Day after day the corps dramatique 
is lauded, until one might think it such a constellation 
of genius and talent, as never before shed its splendors 
on the world. And, should the faithful editor have 
other amusements, or business, to detain him from 
the performance, still the stipulated puff is duly 
forthcoming, at a venture. 

But, one other grand attraction of this " school 
of morals," must not be entirely overlooked. It is 
a well known fact, that women of infamous character 
throng the theatre, in shoals ; and are its most 
constant patrons. This, alone, should cause moral 
men to be a little backward, in taking their wives 
and daughters to the known rendezvous of females 
so justly odious. But, there is another fact, not so 
generally known, and, yet, never denied, so far as 
we know, and, doubtless, susceptible of ample proof ; 
that startling fact is, that the class of females alluded 
to, are not only permitted to attend the theatre, 
without any effort, by the manager, to render the 
company more select, but, usually, if not univer 
sally, courtesans are admitted, free of charge, 
on account of the benefit they are supposed to 
confer on the theatre, by attracting young gentlemen 
to it! 

This is a " school of morals," with a vengeance 
—-a select place, to which we are safely to take 
our wives and daughters — where female infamy 
is employed as an attraction, and prostitution is 



X 



THE THEATRE. 283 

pensioned, to give eclat to the moral teachings, and 
refining influences, of the play! 

And, to such a place, some professors of the pure 
religion of Christ go, and thus give countenance to 
all its malign and ruinous influences ; aye, Christian 
ladies have been known so far to forget the dignity 
of their sex, and the purity of their religion, as to 
be found in such a place, and in such company. 
A respectable female — -and, surely, a religious one- 
would feel herself ruinously scandalized, by having 
it said of her, that she had visited a house of 
assignation; and, especially, if such disgraceful fact 
were proven against her ; but, such a house is the 
modern theatre, and, probably, on a larger scale than 
any that bears that name. In the one case, she 
would justly expect to be expelled, for life, from 
respectable society ; but, in the other, she speaks, 
with satisfaction, of the performances, the scenery, 
the company, and even tells, with a modest smile 
—but no blush— of what transpired in the " third 
tier." 

Thank heaven, the theatre has lost its former 
footing, in this country; has little popularity with 
moral and intellectual men, and none with the truly 
religious; its tendency is strongly downward, toward 
the dishonorable tomb of its mother — -the Orgies of 
Bacchus; and, there, but for the unworthy conduct 
of recusant professors of religion, probably, ere this 
time, had its ashes been strewn, 

" Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." 



CHAPTER XXIII, 
AMUSEMENTS.— THE CIRCUS. 



Circus lower, but more candid than Theatre, for it only professes to 
amuse with feats of agility and buffoonery — nothing to learn, or 
to imitate — The whole an animal affair— System of humbug — 
Manner of drumming up patronage — Bad influence on the young, 
on servants, &c — The actual performance — riding — female per- 
formers — clown — idea probably derived from King's Fool — 
coarse wit of modern clowns — Model artistes — Evil effects of the 
Circus. 

Amusements. — The Circus. — Perhaps the circus 
is the next thing in the descending scale of amusements, 
claiming a passing notice. The theatre professes to 
teach morals, elocution, refinement ; the dancing saloon, 
to teach the " poetry of motion," grace of manners, 
and elegant polish. But what does the circus profess ? 
In this, however, it may, with some propriety be said, 
that the circus is entitled to a sort of credit above the 
others ; it makes no false, or delusive professions, as to 
its object ; and pretends to teach nothing, but only to 
amuse the idle and thoughtless, by exhibitions of agility, 
or difficulty, by acts and expressions, ludicrous and 
laughable. The performances of this class of ministers 
of folly, are chiefly executed on horseback ; yet, their 
most admired feats teach the spectator nothing of horse- 
manship, for, no man, in the common walks of life, has 



THE emeus. 



285 



any use for the art of playing the mountebank on 
horseback, nor would he, if he possessed the art, 
consent, on any terms, to be seen riding in the manner of 
the circus performers. A young man may try to catch 
the manner of an actor, esteeming it elegant, or im- 
pressive ; a girl may attempt to imitate some movement 
of Celeste, which she thinks graceful ; but who 
attempts to reduce to practice what he learns at the 
circus ? We have, after the visit of a circus, to a town 
or city, sometimes seen stable boys, as they rode their 
horses to water, endeavoring to imitate the great 
masters, from whom they had taken stealthy lessons, 
with heads thrust through, or under the tent cover ; but, 
beyond this, we have known of no instances of copying 
from those elegant models. 

The circus may be looked on as the ne -plus ultra of 
passive animal amusements. To follow the dramatis 
personal through a play, requires some exercise of the 
mental powers ; and, to be qualified to " trip on light 
fantastic toe," requires both attention and effort. But 
here nothing is required but simply the ability passively 
to be operated on, by the merry-andrewism exhibited. 

The whole arrangement and appointments of the 
circus constitute the perfection of humbuggery; and, 
the wonder is, that such a thing can receive any coun- 
tenance in a civilized country. When a strolling 
company of equestrian mountebanks is about to visit a 
place, the first step is, to send forth the announcement. 
This is done, not only by publishing in all the news- 
papers, but, chiefly, by enormous, gaudy, and attractive 
posters, which are put up at such prominent drinking 
houses, and similar places, as can find extent of wall 



286 



AMUSEMENTS. 



sufficient for their display. Those bills exhibit a won- 
derful perfection in the printer's art : and, to a sensible 
man, are quite the most rationally, interesting part of 
the whole affair. When the great day arrives, the 
troupe make their entrance into the city, or town, in 
most imposing style. First, comes a " magTdncent 
golden chariot, rivaling the Funeral Chariot of Alex- 
ander the Great, or the Triumphal Car of jSTero, and 
which cost six thousand dollars." [Such an one was 
recently sold at Montreal, for $280, to atone for a 
fraud on the British revenue laws.] This chariot is 
filled with musicians, whose brazen braying arouses the 
attention and wonder of children, servants, and loafers, 
and stuns the delicate ears of the quiet denizens of the 
hamlet. Next come the members of the troupe, attired 
in the most fantastic, tawdry, and ludicrous manner 
imaginable, and mounted on showily caparisoned horses, 
generally, noble animals, for whose unjust degradation 
one can scarcely avoid feeling pity. After such a street 
display, and such an amount of specious promise, it is 
not marvellous that the uninitiated novice should be all 
agog, and eager for a sight of the greater things he 
anticipates in the actual performance. And a reading 
of the posters, small bills, and advertisements, will be 
far more likely to increase, than diminish, his desire for 
■ sight seeing ; for, in truth, they constitute the transcen- 
dental of ridiculous and extravagant self-eulogy. We 
happen to have one of the more modest of these before 
us — one of the " small bills;" and it is not every man 
that can equal it in superlatives, and strong expletive, 
even though heaven, or its glorious Ruler, were his 
theme. Take a few samples : the thing itself, is the 



TUB CIRCUS. 



287 



" Grand National Circus:" the performance is to 
commence with a " grand entree of all the beautiful 
horses, and (beautiful) riders, entitled the Glory of 
Columbia." Then the u incredible performances " of a 
" great and indomitable " old horse come off. Next, 

" The astonishing and beautiful will introduce 

her splendid act of horsemanship." " The wonderful 
will go through his extraordinary perfor- 
mances." Another horse, " trained by the far-famed 
L. N.," is pronounced " the Wonder and Pride of 
the equestrian ivorld, the Great and Unapproachable." 
" The champion of the equestrian world will execute 

his great magic act in which this incomparable 

rider, will accomplish a series of terrific leaps, and 
almost superhuman feats" After such straining of 
language, to make the affair appear wonderfully won- 
derful, and after clambering up to so dizzying a height 
of moral sublimity, how do you suppose a climax can 
be superadded ? or how is the bewildered reader ever 
to get safely down from the giddy height ? By the 
easiest process imaginable. A few negro " songs and 
dances in character" at once thrust up the spire from 
the lofty summit of this gorgeous temple of foolery, 
and let you gently down from it again, to your native 
earth. This is alike appropriate and humane. Another 
instance of judgment and justice is, that of eulogizing 
the quadrupeds a little above the bipeds, and ascribing 
to the former, qualities of a rather higher than the 
latter. 

The riders are said, in their performances, to be 
" astonishing," " wonderful," " extraordinary," &c. ; 
but one horse is pronounced, " great and indomitable" 



288 



AMUSEMENTS. 



and another, " GREAT and unapproachable." Nothing, 
it would seem, but a sense of the strict justness of such 
an award, could induce men to appear on the same bill, 
with horses, in a relation of inferiority to them. 

To suppose, that men of common sense, could be 
deceived into a belief of the truth, of such extravagant 
pretensions, is to suppose the existence of a high degree 
of gullibility. Were men in any other department, to 
make such professions — -to proclaim their transcendent 
merits in like terms, as physicians, lawyers, or artists, 
they would be hissed out of society, as quacks, harle- 
quins, and impostors. And yet, it is most natural, that 
the young and unpractised should conclude, that there 
must surely be some wonderful reality, where so much 
of the laudatory and boastful herald in the perfor- 
mance. And such, we suppose, are the subjects de- 
signed to be directly operated on by such strategy. We 
will not say of the whole concern, as is said in a 
respectable periodical, from another nation, that it is a 
" knave's trap to catch fools;" but, we may safely, and 
truthfully say, that, after its recruiting sergeants have 
drummed and marched through the town, to raise 
patronage, a wonderful excitement is manifest among 
the inferior elements of society: boys rush along, in 
crowds, after the great wonder ; servant maids, collected 
in groups, on the street corners, raise their hands in 
amazement ; old women peer over their spectacles, 
astonished ; cooks leave the supper burning, to gaze on 
the dazzling display ; while men of intelligence and 
religion exclaim, in sadness, " When will men become 
rational ? When will they cease to be governed by 
gross sensualism?" This public demonstration raises 



THE CIRCUS. 



2m 



the fever of desire, and impatience, on the part of the 
young and unthinking, to see all that such a pageant 
promises, to a pitch of unrestrainable intensity. Chil- 
dren steal away from their parents ; servants, breaking 
over all restraints and prohibitions, crowd to the focus 
of attraction ; clothing is sold, or pawned, to raise the 
amount necessary to procure a ticket ; or money is 
borrowed, or stolen, for the important object. Such as 
fail to procure a ticket, collect about the entrance of 
the pavilion, in motley, clamorous crowds, through 
which ladies and gentlemen (?) attending the circus ? 
have to force a passage. 

We, however, now suppose the case of a novice, who ? 
having paid his footing, enters the pavilion, procures an 
eligible seat in the mongrel throng, and awaits the 
opening of the performances, with impatience and expec- 
tations equally high. At length, the " sounding brass, 
and tinkling cymbal,' ' begin to discourse " tempestuous 
music;" but this he had heard on the street, and it 
sounded better then, than now, for, not being in such 
close contact with the listener, it did not so stun and 
pierce the ear. Then comes the " grand entree," that 
is, the company ride into the arena ; but, as he had seen 
the noble horses, and the grotesquely attired riders, 
parading the street, this is not now new, except, that 
they may enter in a different order. 

But, now the grand performance fairly opens ; one 
man affects the Indian Warrior, and rides, and acts, as 
no sensible Indian ever did ; another gallops round the 
ring, with a boy on his shoulders ; one rides two horses at 
once, that is, standing with one foot on each ; another 
performs " terrific leaps," in which, however, many 
25 



290 



AMUSEMENTS. 



other animals greatly excel him, and the kangaroo is 
incomparably superior to him. A female now appears, 
in such a costume as, on the street, would ensure her a 
retinue of boys and negroes, if not a hail storm of rotten 
eggs, and would shut her out from all circles of respect- 
able society. Mounted on her steed, standing on one 
foot, with the other thrown abroad, at a not very acute 
angle, and attired most favorably for personal exhibi- 
tion, no marvel, if her person, and posturing, attract 
more attention, and excite more interest, than any thing 
else connected with her " wonderful act of horseman- 
ship." Another important and indispensable appendage 
to the circus, or rather, constituent of it, is a Zany^ 
a professional fool, styled the clown. This idea was 
probably borrowed from the usage of ancient kings, of 
barbarous, or half-civilized countries, who, knowing 
that the ignorance of their times would not appreciate, 
or relish things intellectual, as an agreeable entertain- 
ment for their courtiers, provided themselves with a 
court fool, to produce such entertainment as suited the 
taste and intelligence of protegees and nobles, who 
could neither read nor write, but who loved to laugh 
over their dinners and their cups. That important 
personage was fantastically clothed — not unlike the per- 
former of a circus— wore an odd cap, with a red stripe 
at top, which was his fool's crown ; and, for a sceptre, 
he bore in his hand a bawhle, (marotte,*) which was a 
short stick, with a head carved on the end, and a small 
dry bladder attached, containing peas, or gravel, to 
rattle. The " king's fool" was, usually, the most witty 
man to be found ; but, affecting the dress and manners 
of a simpleton, his flashes of rude wit shone the more 



THE CIRCUS. 



291 



vividly. Such an office could not, of course, survive a 
period of general ignorance ; but, by a strange me- 
tempsychosis^ the spirit of the old " king's fool " seems 
to have revived, to animate the body of the new Zany, 
but with a wit less pungent and refined, to suit the 
taste of the new sphere in which it has now to revolve. 
It has been said, with seeming aptness, that a differ- 
ence between the former, and the present race of 
professional fools is, that, with the former, the fool was 
affected, the wit real ; and, in the present, the wit 
affected, the clown natural. Indeed, the former, 
availing themselves of " fool's license," often reproved 
the vice, or folly, of the great, quaintly, to be sure, but 
with good effect. Bishop Hall tells of a nobleman, who 
gave to his fool a staff, bidding him keep it until he 
met a greater fool than himself. The nobleman was 
taken with an illness, unto death, when the following 
dialogue occurred: — 

Nobleman. " I am about to leave you." 

Fool. " And whither are you going?" 

N. " To another world." 

F. " When will you return ?" 

N. " Never." 

F. " What provision have you made for your en- 
tertainment there ?" 

N. (With a deep sigh) " None at all." 

F. "What? None at all! Then take my staff, 
for I am not guilty of any such folly as this." 

Compared with this character, how poor an animal is 
a modern clown? He enters the ring riding back 
wards, perhaps, holding to the tail of his horse ; affects 
to be drunk, and falls ; and when one attempts to help 



292 



AMUSEMENTS. 



him on again, he lies heavy and helpless as a log, until 
his friend, by hard exertion, gets him partly up, when, 
suddenly, he makes a "terrific leap," "clears three 
horses," and hides himself beneath their bodies ; or, 
peeping out through their legs, smartly tells his friend, 
" You can't come it ;" and when asked, if he will have 
another dram, he most wittily replies, " I wont have 
nothing else." And yet this personage, whose office 
is to excite mirth by ludicrous acts, and by retailing 
stale jests, and stolen flat-boatisms, for original wit, is 
the chief attraction of the circus ; unless, indeed, pre- 
cedence be given to the highflier vaaltress, or to the 
negro dancers. 

Of late, we have noticed another item of attraction, 
in circus bills, under the imposing title of " classic 
groupings," the exact import of which we do not fully 
comprehend. But the idea of going to the circus for 
any classic information — beyond such as may have been 
learned from a translation of Ovid — is a burlesque on 
whatever has been venerated, or esteemed, under that 
name. Possibly, however, the " classic groupings" 
may bear some affinity to the groupings of the " Model 
Artistes." The beastly, in man, is making a mighty 
effort for the ascendency, and is dragging its votaries 
down below all that is not purely animal. The circus 
is very near perfection, in this regard ; but, Model 
Artistery, which seeks filthy lucre, by a shockingly 
immodest exposure of the bodies of men and women, 
in their natural state — or, at least, appearance — before 
a crowd of promiscuous spectators, descends below the 
mere animal ; and, if the circus really should superadd 
this consummating glory to its other qualities, it may 



THE CIRCUS. 



293 



soon claim to be the supreme court of sensuality ; 
and we shall then hope, as indeed, Ave do now, that 
the sense of morality, modesty, and common decency 
in community, will soon strike the abomination from 
existence. 

The Model Artiste adventure is a last-begotten 
moral monster of French atheistic libertinism — offspring 
of the same spirit that favored governmental reform — 
peaceful revolution; hoping, thereby, to exterminate 
religion, destroy morality, and set up, on the ruins, 
the reign of infidelity, and universal prostitution; but 
which was ready to labor madly to turn its tranquil 
waters to blood, when there was seen a blossoming 
for holier fruit. The universal condemnation and 
contempt poured upon this spume of atheism, by all 
decent portions of American society, is proof, that 
there are some heights and depths of licentiousness 
for which the people of this country are not yet 
ready. 

But, if the " groupings " have no resemblance to 
the Model Artists, still we may regard these remarks 
as merely episodal, and return for the formality of a 
final leave taking of our friends of the circus. We 
have not enumerated half the evils and mischiefs of 
the circus, nor shall we now attempt it ; our charcoal 
sketch is not over drawn, but deficient both in outline 
and coloring ; but we may most safely say, that it 
has not a phase, or feature, but is positively bad, 
while not one compensating element of utility appears, 
for the bodies or souls, the minds or manners of its 
votaries. It is the enemy of mental improvement 
and moral purity, and tends to destroy health, waste 



294 



AMUSEMENTS. 



time, and squander money. To suppose, that men of 
cultivated reason, would attend it, is to suppose they 
would resign that high character, for a consideration of 
much less value than Emu's pottage. And could we 
believe, that truly religious men may habitually attend, 
and love its pleasures without a betrayal of the cause of 
Christ, it were easy to suppose that there was little 
cause for the suicide of Judas. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
AMUSEMENTS — GAMES. 



Gambling not treated, but games for amusement — Cards — playing 
for amusement, forms the habit and love of it, and leads 
to gambling — instances — Case of Lock — -of Dodd — Eomaine — ■ 
Remarks of Bennett — Even playing for amusement injures the 
confidence of business men, or young men — instance — Billiards, 
dice, &c, in the like category with cards. 

Amusements— Games.— There is another class of 
amusements, the prevalence and tendencies of which, 
render it proper, that we should inquire into the 
subject. 

We speak not, now, directly, of gambling, for 
this is a clear immorality ; but, merely of gaming, 
as an " amusement that cannot be taken in the name 
of the Lord Jesus." That gambling is immoral, is 
sufficiently manifest, from the consideration, that, by 
engaging in it, you attempt to obtain that which is 
not your own, without rendering any consideration 
of value for it— which is fraudulent; and, at the 
same time, you put that in jeopardy, which you 
have no moral right to dispose of, for any but a 
lawful and useful purpose. Indeed, it would seem 
superfluous, to prove the immorality of that which 
is so, in the eye even of human law. But, there 



296 



AMUSEMENTS, 



are practices, about the morality of which, there is 
not the same unanimity of opinion, as obtains with 
regard to the grosser forms of gambling, which it 
may be proper to notice in the present connection. 
The first we notice, is, 

Cards.— These are employed, not only as instru- 
ments in numerous forms of gambling, but also as 
a source of amusement. They are said to have 
been invented some five hundred years ago, for the 
purpose of amusing a French Monarch,* while in a 
state of mental derangement; and, though the truth 
of this history of the origin of cards is questioned, 
we are half inclined to credit it, because of its 
appropriateness; for, certainly, the shuffling, dealing 
out, and poring over, bits of spotted paste-board, 
by the hour, with the intensest interest, seems an 
employment fitter for a demented king, than for a 
rational man, or a sane Christian. 

Gambling with cards is, in itself, a heinous sin, anci 
Is prolific of almost every other vice, particularly fraud 
and dissipation. But very many who scorn the charac- 
ter of the professional gambler, yet feel fully authorized 
to indulge, habitually, and freely, in playing at cards 
for amusement. Playing for amusement is, to gam- 
bling, very much the same that habitual tippling is to 
drunkenness : the one leads to the other as directly, 
as the road to the city, or the river to. the sea. No 
man becomes a gambler by one step r nor of original 
intention, no more than he does a drunkard by one 



* Charles VI., King of France. 



CARDS. 



297 



potation, and from fixed purpose. It is by toying 
with the harmless and beautiful young adder, until his 
poison fangs are grown, that men become mortally 
but unconsciously bitten; for they are unaware that 
the snakelet's pretty tooth has secreted the poison 
of death, until the killing infection has mingled with 
all their blood. Probably, every hated gambler, 
now shunned, as odious, by sinners of common dye, 
commenced his career by playing for amusement. 
Now, the amusement sought is but another name for 
excitement, and the play soon grows uninteresting 
without something to spring excitement. Accordingly, 
those who play for amusement, very commonly put up 
a very small stake, not for its own sake, but to give 
interest to the game. But, after a while, the dime, or 
half dime, is found not to afford the required interest, 
and the stake is increased. A little wine or brandy 
is found to give still additional interest to the play, 
and, gradually, the interest deepens with each increase 
of bet, and every potation from the bar; the day — 
the night passes, unheeded, away, and still the 
players are at the table ; interest has risen to 
excitement, and excitement has become almost 
maddening; the bets have grown from dimes to 
dollars, from dollars to tens, from tens to hundreds ; 
and, in instances, but too numerous, it has happened, 
that the sober, respectable citizen, who sat down to 
a game of cards, to amuse away an idle hour, has 
risen from his innocent amusement, before the morrow's 
sun had come up, drunk, bankrupt, and ruined. We 
have, to be sure, no personal experience, and but 
limited observation in matters of this kind, having. 



298 



AMUSEMENTS. 



very rarely, been in the way of witnessing, even 
amusements of that sort, except in travelling; yet we 
have seen enough to satisfy us, that the pernicious 
tendencies of playing for recreation can hardly 
be painted in shades untruthfully dark. On a recent 
occasion, when a noted gambler was spoken of, as 
distinguished in his profession, for skill, fraud, and 
success, a gentleman present, claiming to be respec- 
table, and very moral, asserted, that he had taken 
that young man, when he knew not one card from 
another, and had taught him to play for amusement only, 
for he, himself, never gambled, he said, and that, in a 
very few years, he became one of the most notorious 
blacklegs in the country. And, though this moral 
man had started that youth in the way of dishonesty, 
disgrace, and, perhaps, eternal destruction, it seemed 
not at all to enter his mind, that he had, by the act, 
incurred a fearful responsibility. He taught him to play 
and cheat, for the innocent purpose of murdering 
precious hours; but the youth, having learned his 
trade, applied his learning to its natural, dishonest, 
and unholy uses. On one occasion, we saw four men, 
of high standing in society, seat themselves at the card 
table, not to gamble — for they all professed to scorn 
the character of the gambler — but merely to enliven 
the dull hours on a tedious voyage. It was Saturday 
evening: after playing a few games, they agreed to 
bet a half dime to give a little interest, and to make it 
convenient to count the game. Soon spirits were 
called in; now a dime was the bet — more spirits — 
twenty-five cents was the bet ; it grew late, they 
talked loud, swore much, doubled the bet — drank 



CARDS. 



299 



more deeply — doubled again, and so on, until Sunday 
morning, when the two more sober were found hardly 
enough so to assist the drunker two to bed. And all 
this was playing for amusement. How rational, how 
Christian like ! 

On another occasion, we saw a young man who had 
been religiously educated, enticed into the "innocent 
amusement," by vile blacklegs, who " never gambled," 
as they said, but only wished to pass off the time 
agreeably. When he professed, and truly, to know 
very little about playing, they were equally ignorant. 
Between the game and the bar, the excitement soon 
got up, and was kept up, and increased, until that 
young man was taken from the table beastly drunk, 
and robbed of every dollar. The next morning he 
found himself disgraced, scorned, and mocked, by his 
robbers, hundreds of miles from home, friendless and 
pennyless. Such are the legitimate fruits of the 
innocent employment of playing cards for amusement. 

But the employment seems as little calculated to 
improve the mind, as to promote piety or morality. 

The great Mr. Locke was invited to spend a day in 
company with Lord Shaftsbury, Lord Halifax, and the 
Duke of Buckingham, and, in the society and conversa- 
tion of such men, he anticipated a rich intellectual feast. 
But great was his disappointment when, soon after the 
introduction, those distinguished noblemen, instead of 
engaging in profitable conversation with the philosopher, 
sat down to a game of cards. Locke looked on for a 
while, and then, taking out a memorandum book, fell to 
writing most diligently. After he had been thus 
employed for some time, one of the gentlemen observed 



300 



AMUSEMENTS. 



the fact, and inquired his object. " Having waited 
with patience," said Locke, " for the honor of being in 
company with the greatest geniuses of the age, I am 
endeavoring to profit by my present position, and am 
carefully writing down the conversation of your lord- 
ships, and think I have got it quite accurately for the 
last hour." The rebuke was felt to be just, and the 
cards were instantly thrown aside. 

" I think it very wonderful," says Addison, " to see 
persons of the best sense passing aw&y a dozen hours 
together in shuffling and dividing a pack of cards, with 
no other conversation but what is made up of a few 
game phrases, and no other ideas but those of black or 
red spots ranged together in different figures. Would 
not a man laugh to hear any one of these species com- 
plaining that life is short?" 

How can such " diversions be taken in the name of 
the Lord Jesus ?" 

The celebrated Mr. Dodd was once invited to join in 
playing a game of cards. He seemed to assent, but 
instantly arose and took off his hat. He was asked 
what he was going to do. He replied, " To ask a bless- 
ing on our game." " But we never ask a blessing on 
these occasions," was the reply. "Then," rejoined 
Dodd, " I cannot join you, for I dare engage in 
nothing on which I cannot ask God's blessing." 

A lady, after hearing a searching sermon from Mr. 
Romaine, told him she could submit to all the claims of 
the gospel, as laid down by him, save in one thing — she 
could not give up the amusement of cards. "You 
think you could not be happy without them ?" said he. 
"I know I could not," she replied. " Then, madam, 



CARDS. 



301 



they are your God, and they must save you, or you 
must be lost." 

We add the excellent remarks following, from Mr. 
Bennett : — 

" Little habits insensibly beget a passion for them ; and, a 
passion for cards, murders time, money, talents, understanding, 
every thing that is rational in our nature, and every thing that 
is divine. 

" If experience did not convince us of the fact, one should 
never have imagined that a reasonable creature would ever have 
been able to consume hours, days, weeks, months, and years, in 
counting over the black and red spots upon paper, and childishly 
to quarrel about their success — a creature who has an under- 
standing that is capable of improvement to an infinite degree — 
a creature living in a world where knowledge is immense, and 
every flower or shrub a subject of astonishment — who has a 
temper that requires continual watchfulness ; a soul that needs 
unremitting cultivation ; perhaps children, that call for incessant 
instruction; amidst objects of distress, for which heaven begs 
each superfluous penny ; and in a body that may, any moment, 
drop into the grave ! 

" I will advert no longer to the moral consequences. A 
woman, who has a wish only to please, should not be addicted to 
this practice. It is very apt to ruffle the temper, and discompose 
the features ; and a sour or angry look, is more destructive to 
female charms, than a high scorbutic flush, or the indelible scars 
of the small pox. 

"It is said, in favor of cards, that they prevent scandal, and 
are a substitute to many for the want of conversation. This 
conveys a severe stigma, both on our hearts and understanding. 
It supposes that we have few stores of entertainment within 
ourselves, and that the only way to avoid a greater crime is to 
fall into a less. Our moments, I fear, will not bear the scrutiny 
of conscience or reason, much less of the great day, if we 
cannot contrive to spend them in an innocent and useful manner, 
without the low resource of either scandal or play ! 



302 



AMUSEMENTS 



" The defender of cards, however, will say nothing of gaming. 
No fortune, they know, is equal to its extravagant demands. An 
unlucky throw, loses thousands in a moment. It has reduced the 
most opulent families to indigence ; it has led some to forgery 
and an ignominious death ; others, whose pride would not brook 
the degradation, to the fatal act of suicide ; at best, it has plunged 
into poverty and distress many heirs of honorable and illustrious 
houses, who were born, in all appearance, to happier days. 
Your moderate card players, as they call themselves, have 
often wondered what could tempt people of fortune to such a 
dreadful and ruinous amusement, as that of gaming. I will 
venture to say, that this shocking practice is nothing more than 
the spirit of card playing carried to its extreme; that* equal 
temptations would, probably, have led them to the very same 
imprudence ; that they both, generally, originate in the same 
principle, (the want of something substantial to fill and exercise 
the mind.J and are only an artificial method of destroying that 
ennui and languor, which are the most insupportable feelings of 
human life ; and that the care of both must equally spring from 
solid knowledge, and from solid virtue. 

" Though gaming, at first, arises from no worse a principle 
than a want of amusement, or of having something to call the 
passions into exercise, yet, in its consequences, it has a tendency 
to eradicate every religious and moral disposition, every social 
duty, every laudable and virtuous affection. It renders the 
mind selfish in the extreme, and callous to every touch of woe, 
in every shape ; whilst it stops up the sluices of charity, it extin- 
guishes the inclination for it ; it is deaf to every call of friend- 
ship or prudence. There can be no such thing as an attentive 
parent, mother, wife, brother, sister, or a sympathizing heart, 
where this infernal rage has possession of the soul. Every 
thing else is swallowed up in the all-devouring vortex. A 
gamester would stake the last thousand on a throw, though a 
prison for her husband, rags for her children, or a gallows for 
her nearest friend, were the melancholy prospect ! 

'•If you disbelieve this reasoning, look into life. "What effect 
has this passion gradually produced on women, who had once 
hearts full of tenderness and virtue, and were affected with every 



CARDS, 



303 



appearance of distress ; who had from nature every refinement 
of taste, and every elegance of manners, to captivate and charm. 

" If it were not invidious, I could produce many living char- 
acters to support my assertions. They would make a dismal 
picture, and the motto would be, ' Beware of beginning.' " 

To teach a youth to play at all, is to throw him into 
the way of temptation ; to form the habit, is to give 
power to that temptation; and to contract a passion for 
playing, is to become its victim. Armed with this 
dangerous acquirement, he plays for the love of it ; he 
bets to give interest to the game, and increases the 
stake to keep up that interest. Or, if he would play 
without betting, yet others will not play with him with- 
out that auxilliary, and he bets to accommodate his 
fellows, or, it may be, to avoid being thought timid or 
parsimonious. As the result, in its mildest form, much 
time is wasted, money is squandered, health is injured 
by keeping irregular hours, moral principle is weakened, 
and moral habits corrupted by evil association. Another 
consequence which young men do not look to with 
proper care, is the loss of confidence in them as business 
doing men. 

As an instance, and illustration of this, we will state a 
fact. Some years ago, there were, on a steamer bound 

for the city of C , an old wholesale merchant, and a 

young retailer, going to purchase goods. The young 
man played much, but only bet small sums to give 
interest to the game. After reaching the city the 
young man called at the large establishment of the old 
merchant, with whom he was acquainted, to make 
purchases. The keen eye of the old dealer had marked 
his movements on the boat ; and, though the young 



304 



AMUSEMENTS. 



man had letters to the house from respectable sources, 
he was informed, that it would not be convenient to sell 
him goods on time. No reason was assigned, and 
probably the young man never knew the cause of his 
defeat ; but the old gentleman said, in our hearing, 
that he made it a rule never to credit a young man 
who would play, nor ever to put claims for collection 
into the hands of a card-playing attorney; " for," 
said he, " if they were on the way to the city, with my 
money in their pockets, a little extra excitement would 
lead them to stake it on a game, hoping, if they should 
even lose, to win it back before reaching here." 
Whether this would hold good, as a universal rule, is not 
the question for a young man to consider ; it is enough 
that this habit casts a shade of suspicion on his integrity, 
in the minds of prudent, far seeing men, whose influ- 
ence can do them much good or harm in business. 

Again : when an expert player, who is not a gamester, 
gets into pecuniary embarrassment, the temptation is 
strong to attempt his extrication by a temporary resort 
to gaming. We could point to several instances in 
which men have thus acted and lost all. In one instance, 
the experimenter resolved to make the daring venture, 
and, if he could win enough to relieve his pressing 
embarrassments, he would there stop, and never throw 
another card. He played — he won the sum required ; 
but he falsified his vow, played on, and, in two hours, 
was hopelessly bankrupt, and so remains to this hour, 
though the circumstances occurred years ago. 

What is true of the evils of card-playing is, to a 
greater or less extent, true also of billiards, dice, and 
other games of chance and skill. They all promote 



CARDS. 



305 



the habit of wasting precious time, tend to a disrelish 
for religious enjoyments, for mental improvements, and 
even for steady business habits ; promote dissipation- 
mental, at least, if not physical — afford temptation to 
trick and fraud, and open the way to worse forms of 
gaming. That all are equally pernicious, and so under 
whatever circumstances practised, is what we dare not 
assert ; but we may assert, safely, that the very general 
tendency is decidedly bad. And a Christian may only 
engage in such as he can " use in the name of the 
Lord Jesus." 

26 



CHAPTER 
AMUSEMENTS. 



XXV. 
— SPORTS. 



Horse Racing — Original manner of running horses — Greeks prac- 
tised this sport — Did not make gain an object — This a leading 
object in modem times — Plea that horse racing improves the breed 
of horses fallacious — The sport is cruel — Tends to dissipation — 
Gambling a chief object — An unfit place for ladies and Christians 
— Attendance of Christians wrong — Hunting, &c. — Rule by 
which we may judge of the innocency of these sports. 

The word " Diversions" used in the General Rules 
to indicate the indulgencies prohibited, is a very com- 
prehensive one, and signifies something — any thing — 
that turns away or calls off the mind from the chief 
subject of human concernment — the great purpose of 
mortal existence. 

The class of amusements commonly called " sports," 
falls clearly within this description, and therefore claims 
a passing notice, at least. Prominent among these is 
the popular sport of 

Horse Racing. —This is one of the primitive sports 
of men in a state of nature. When men have few 
sources of mental and rational entertainment, they 
naturally turn to such as are of the animal sort ; and, 
as horses, in the fulness of young life, love to exercise 
their limbs, and for that purpose frequently run, singly 



SPORTS, 



307 



or together, playfully over the pastures, or through the 
woodlands, it required no great ingenuity, in even bar- 
barous people, to conceive the idea of setting them upon 
a trial of speed against each other. And, indeed, one 
of the early forms of horse racing was that in which a 
number of trained horses were started upon the track, 
or stradium, without riders, to run for the goal as they 
chose, very much as a herd of wild horses run in the 
Western prairies in a grand stampede. 

The Greeks practiced the horse race in various forms, 
and they may be regarded as the originators of the 
sports of the turf. Single horses ran against time; 
one man rode two horses in a race, that is, leaping 
alternately from one to the other ; a number of horses 
ran against each other hi the race, each bearing a rider 
to direct his course, and to urge him to his utmost 
speed; but each competitor, whether simple jockey, 
statesman, noble, or king, was required to be the rider 
of his own horse. They also practiced the chariot race, 
in which two, three, or four horses were driven abreast 
round the track, at a furious and dangerous speed. But 
in none of these forms of racing does it appear, that the 
sordid idea of making the sport a matter of gain, by 
gambling on the chances of success, on the part of the 
competing animals, was ever entertained. They con- 
tended for the prize of applause and fame, not for 
money. 

And though several kings were passionately fond of 
racing, and engaged in it largely, we have never yet 
heard that King Hiero, or Gelon, won a fortune ; or that 
Dionysius, or Philip of Macedon, lost an estate by 
betting on a horse or chariot race. 



308 



AMUSEMENTS. 



In modern times the matter is different, and now 
sportsmen keep extensive skids of running horses, 
which they take many hundreds of miles, from one 
race course to another, for the purpose of making it 
matter of gambling speculation. 

The only plea we have heard, of the least plausibility 
for horse racing is, that it tends to improve the breed 
of horses, by stimulating the lovers of the turf to pro- 
duce the fleetest animals ; yet this argument is more 
specious than solid, for the very cultivation of those 
qualities, pre-eminently esteemed in turf horses, tends, 
in the same proportion, to deteriorate those more valuable 
properties required for the purposes of common and 
active usefulness, and daily service. So that horse 
racing only tends to improve the breed of racing horses. 
The practice is gambling, and therefore wrong. It 
tends to cruelty, aye, is cruelty itself. Fine animals 
are over-strained, in order to win a purse for their mas- 
ters, not only to the point of distress and suffering, but, 
in innumerable cases, to their ruin. Many a fine animal 
has been so urged beyond his ability, as to become a 
sufferer for life, to gratify an unfeeling master. A few 
years since, the fruit of one day's running was, to leave 
three horses dead at the course, and to disable a fourth 
for life. There are laws in our country, for the punish- 
ment of cruelty to dumb animals, and this is proper. 
We very often hear of draymen, and others, being 
arrested, and punished by law, for the cruelty of over- 
loading their horses, and then beating them unmercifully 
because of their inability to draw a load to which their 
strength is not equal ; but the gentlemanly gambler, 
who runs his horse to death, to replenish his prodigal 



SPORTS. 



309 



purse, is not looked on as a violater even of the laws 
of humanity. 

It tends directly and strongly to dissipation. The 
company, the object, the circumstances of the place 
and occasion, render it impossible for one to attend, and 
enter into the spirit of the place, without being led 
from the path of sober propriety, or without being made 
a worse man by the contaminating contact. 

It promotes gambling, generally. Gambling is the 
primary object, and gamblers, of all shades and colors, 
flock to a place where homage is paid to their common 
divinity. Hence, the race-course is thronged, with 
not only horse-racers, card-players, and gamblers of 
every type, but pick-pockets, and horse thieves regard 
themselves as invited guests. And it appears sufficiently 
absurd to see, on these occasions, the originators of 
the whole affair, raising a fierce hue and cry against 
some small gambler, farrow bank dealer, or pick-pocket, 
and laboring to arrest and punish those their own 
arrangements and virtual invitation had brought there, 
in prosecution of their calling. 

Furthermore : as the business of the meeting is 
gambling, the congregation made up of gamblers and 
their patrons, it would be singular, if the professional 
horse-racer were not led into other forms of vice. 
And such a hypothesis well agrees with known facts. 
We never have known an instance, in which a profes- 
sional sportsman in this line, who followed round, from 
course to course, for the ostensible purpose of running 
horses, has not also had other modes of gaming as a 
part of his object ; and, indeed, as racing is regarded 
as a very respectable mode of gambling, it is under- 



310 



AMUSEMENTS. 



stood that, with many, the horse-race is but the more 
decent cloak thrown about the person of the real black- 
leg, for purposes of disguise. The race-course is, in 
truth, a grand exhibition of vice and crime, in their 
numerous manifestations. Gaming, sporting, drinking, 
fighting, stealing, passing spurious money, and nearly 
every vice is there rife. It is a " protracted meeting,' ' 
whose whole business, arrangements, associations, and 
operations, are exactly suited to promote the growth and 
development of vice, and to deteriorate the moral prin- 
ciples of society. 

That men addicted to the vices specially fostered 
there, and prepared to enjoy that sort of society, 
should visit the race-course, and receive the baptism 
of its unholy spirit, is not at all astonishing ; but, 
that ladies should seek enjoyment in such society, 
and in amusements so utterly unfeminine, is an aston- 
ishing evidence how pervertible is even the natural 
delicacy of the sex. But what there can be found at 
the race-course, in its society, its employments, in its 
spirit, to attract a Christian there, we cannot conceive. 
And professors of religion should know, that, in visiting 
that scene of vice as spectators, they lend their 
influence and support to the encouragement of the 
vices there fostered : they become deeply partakers 
of other men's sins. They cannot go there in the 
name of the Lord Jesus. It is the ground of the 
enemy, and on it you are left to your own weakness, 
to contend against, or yield to, the mighty evil influ- 
ences pervading there. Wherever the Christian can 
go in the name of the Lord, he can claim the all- 
sufficient assistance of the Divine grace and strength ; 



SPOKTS 



311 



but of this protection he cannot avail himself when he 
presumptuously, and uncalled, thrusts himself on to the 
ground of the enemy. 

One evidence of the true character of this amuse- 
ment, may be seen in the fact, that when a horse- 
racer attempts to seek the salvation of his soul, his 
convictions, on account of this indulgence, are very 
painful ; and it is usually one of the last sacrifices he 
is able to offer up in coming to the foot of the cross. 

The number of members, in evangelical Churches, 
who engage directly in horse-racing, is, we prusume, 
small ; but much larger is the proportion of such as 
encourage it by their presence. This should be 
pointedly rebuked, by those who have the care of such 
delinquents ; for, we know of no more effectual way to 
destroy vital piety in the soul, or the Church, than that 
of suffering the little foxes that spoil the tender grapes, 
to go at large unrestrained, unrebuked, and virtually 
encouraged, by pastoral and ecclesiastical silence. 
Against the grosser forms of vice, we enjoy a measure 
of security in their very grossness and want of respecta- 
bility ; but the respectability and semi-moral character 
of those other amusements, invest them with a danger- 
ous and seductive power, to guard effectually against 
the encroachments of which demands ten-fold more care 
and vigilance, than to protect us against temptations to 
scandalous immoralities. 

Hunting, &c. — There are, however, some other 
kinds of sporting, abot*t the propriety of which we 
should find diversity of opinion, even among pious 
people. Among these may be named hunting, fowling, 



812 



AMUSEMENTS. 



fishing, &c. Manj good men may be astonished to 
find themselves apparently in class with horse-racers ; 
oar object, however, is not to condemn without cause, 
but rather to attempt the settlement of a disputed 
moral boundary. It is not necessarily wrong to engage 
in fishing, fowling, &c, nor is it necessarily wrong to run 
a horse. The first may be resorted to for subsistence, 
the latter may be necessary to save the life, or relieve 
the sufferings of a fellow mortal, to escape from a 
pursuing enemy, or to bear an important dispatch. But 
it can hardly be inferred, hence, that every thing con- 
nected with these, as sports, is right. 

Look, for a moment, at the exciting chase ; so soon 
as the pack raise the cry, dogs, horses, and men, put 
forth every effort in pursuit of a fox or stag, provided 
for the occasion. For hours the chase is continued, 
over hill and dale, fence and field, at the peril of limb 
and life, each one resolved, if possible, to be foremost, 
and to be " in at the death." What is the object ? To 
see a harmless animal run nearly to death, and then to 
see it torn to pieces by a pack of dogs. The whole is 
a piece of refined cruelty, which meets an equal con- 
demnation from reason, humanity, and religion. This, 
then, is wrong ; but, we are seeking the boundary line, 
between this and that which is right. 

Man, in right of a Divine charter, (Gen. ix. 3,) holds 
permission to use animal food, and this comprehends the 
right of taking animal life ; yet, it does not authorize 
the taking of animal life without necessity, much less 
from a principle of wanton cruelty. The beasts of the 
forest and field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the 
water, are given to man "for meat" but not for sport. 



SPORTS. 



Here is the indisputable authority for hunting, fowling, 
and fishing, to procure "meat;" but no shadow of grant- 
to do this for the pleasure of inflicting suffering, or 
death, on beast, bird, or fish. Animals, hurtful and 
dangerous, maj be rightfully destroyed ; but, beyond 
this, our grant extends only to the taking life for food. 

There is no principle more directly at war with 
the genius of the gospel, than that which inflicts 
torture, or death, on living animals, for the mere love 
of the act as an amusement. The tendency is 
decidedly bad, as operating to deaden the better sen- 
sibilities of our nature. When a pagan populace 
brought their feelings to delight in seeing wild beasts 
tear each other to pieces, in the arena of the am- 
phitheatre, it was but a short and natural step, to 
become equally delighted, in seeing Christians torn 
to pieces by wild beasts as a charming sport. The 
Christian of refined sensibility, has an aversion to 
inflicting, or to witnessing, animal pain or death, when 
it is strictly necessary ; and when it becomes his duty 
to inflict it, he will do so in the most speedy, and 
least painful manner possible. Remember, then, you 
have no right to take the life of any thing, as a matter 
of amusement or sport,; and, in doing so, you cannot 
be held guiltless. This is, evidently, tne true rule ; and 
the ethics here briefly laid down, are such as will stand 
the scrutiny of reason and religion. By this plain rule, 
let each sport-loving Christian try his own conduct, 
and hear, and abide the verdict, of an instructed con- 
science. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

BETTING. — LOTTERIES. — INSURANCE. 



Betting — The principle wrong — A legal offence, and morally 
wrong — Betting on Elections — Attended with worse effects than 
other forms of the -vice— Tends to corruption — Indirect modes 
of betting — no better — Lotteries — Principle explained and shown 
to be immoral — essentially gambling — Insurance — Different in 
principle and object — Explained. 

What we have now to say, does not fall, strictly, into 
any of the classifications of which we have treated, but 
more nearly belongs to that of gaming than any other. 
They are, however, proper, as we judge, to be noticed 
in connection with the system of Christian and Metho- 
dist ethics, of which we have been treating. 

And first : as an evil practice, not countenanced by 
Christianity, but opposed to it, we notice : — 

Bettixg. — It has been assumed, that betting, or 
staking a wager, on the result of an uncertainty, 
generally, is not gambling ; because, in the common 
forms of gambling, the party making the bet has the 
playing of the game, upon the result of which, the 
winning or losing depends ; and skill or fraud may have 
more to do in deciding the result, than mere chance, 
which is not true of the other case. This fact may be 



BETTING, 



315 



granted, without admitting the conclusion ; for the arts 
and frauds employed — however they may aggravate 
the turpitude of the act — are incidental, and not 
essential to the nature of gambling ; they may exist, 
apart from gambling, and gambling may exist without 
them — except only in so far as gambling necessarily 
partakes of the nature of fraud. All that the reasoning 
above can show would be, that betting, on apparently 
even and wholly uncertain chances, is but a less 
fraudulent mode of gambling ; but still, as its aim is 
to get property, without giving value for it, and in the 
attempt property is put in jeopardy, which the party 
had no moral right to dispose of in that manner, it is 
of the very essence of gambling. In fact, it is a 
transgression of all good civil, or common law ; and, 
perhaps, there is not a well ordered civil government, 
where a wager, won by betting, can be collected by law, 
or where, if already paid, it cannot be recovered from 
the winner by legal proceeding. Herein, the legal im- 
morality of betting is fairly recognized, and it will not 
be asserted, that gospel morality is less strict or 
stringent. The loser lost his money, by his own free 
act, in attempting to get that of his competitor ; but the 
law steps in for the protection of his family, creditors, 
or others, who have rights in the premises, and will not 
permit his act to prejudice their right, or, at any rate, to 
vitiate their claims. The man, therefore, who makes a 
bet, is a gambler in the eye of law and gospel. 

Betting on the result of Elections. — This is 
more frequently indulged in, probably, by the better 
sort of men, than any other kind of gambling of this 



316 



BETTING. 



class ; and it has strangely been regarded, by many, as 
less criminal, while, in truth, it is one of the very worst 
forms that the vice of gambling can assume ; the worst, 
as an act, not a habit. The reasons are obvious : it 
possesses all the elements of gambling, generally ; and, 
besides, is calculated to work a political corruption, 
deadly poisonous to the springs of pure patriotism. 
To illustrate this : a man bets, or offers to bet, which is 
as bad, five hundred dollars, that A. will be elected to a 
certain office for which he is a candidate. Here the 
aim, and perhaps, generally, the effect, is to influence 
men to vote for A., not upon the ground of merit, but 
by a show of strong confidence in his success. He 
knows that men, lacking principle, aim to be on the 
successful side ; and, by staking money on the success 
of his candidate, he makes a show of strong confidence 
in that success. This real, or affected confidence — for 
it- is as likely to be the latter, as the former — backed 
as it is, gives confidence in those who rely upon his 
judgment, and will be likely to influence their action, 
contrary to principle and duty. Furthermore, having 
staked his money on a contingency, it is now his interest, 
to the amount of five hundred dollars, to bring about 
the result, upon which so much personally depends as 
he is concerned ; and personal gain, and selfish ends, 
naturally come to operate where only pure patriotism 
should influence him ; and, to gain those ends, he will 
not be very scrupulous about the means to be employed ; 
for success, and self, and not principle and love of 
country, give character and direction to his actions. 

And should he subsequently become convinced, that 
he was deceived in the character of his candidate, and 



BETTING. 



31T 



that his election would be a curse to community, yet, 
both his pride of opinion, and his pecuniary interests, 
impel him on, against the convictions of his under- 
standing, and the promptings of his conscience. It is, 
then, gambling of the worst type, in which men gamble 
off patriotism, duty, and conscience, corrupt their own 
principles, and avail themselves of the corruption of 
others, to make a personal gain of it to themselves, at 
the expense of their country's weal and honor. 

And the many artifices by which betting on elections 
is evaded inform, but practiced in fact, are little better, 
if any, than the direct, undisguised act. A man — for 
example — will not bet, directly, but he will sell you a 
suit of clothes, worth fifty dollars, for one hundred, to 
be paid when A. is elected to a particular office. This 
may not be betting, legally, but morally it is, and none 
the more honorable for wearing a mask. If A. is 
elected, he wins fifty dollars, for you pay him that 
amount more than the value of the articles bought ; and, 
if A. is not elected, you never pay your note, and so 
win from him property worth fifty dollars. And though 
he should take your note only for the value of the 
goods bought, payable as above, the morality of the 
case is the same ; for he agrees to jeopard his property 
wrongfully on a contingency, and you agree to take it 
wrongfully without giving value ; only, in this case, the 
hazard is all on one side, and it is, therefore, gambling 
upon an unequal bet. With all such contemptible 
trickery and fraud, Christians should blush to have any 
concern whatever. They are not patriots who do it ; 
and, if they can be Christians, we know not on what 
principle, 



318 



AMUSEMENTS. 



Lotteries and Insurance. — We name these two 
together, not for the purpose of uniting them, or of 
placing them on a ground of more equality, but, having 
been urdawfully wedded, we desire to divorce them, as 
being " unequally yoked together." The assumption 
that these are morally equal, in grade and character, 
has been productive of two errors, quite opposite to 
each other. In the one case, the reasoning is this : 
Lotteries and Insurance are of the same nature; but 
lotteries are wrong, therefore insurances must he ivrong 
also : in the other it is — insurances and lotteries are 
based on the same principle of chance, but insurance is 
right and proper; therefore, lotteries mast be right also. 
It happens, in this instance, as generally in sophistries, 
that the error lies in the premises. If the premise 
were true — the moral parity of the two things — then 
the conclusion would be correct, one way or the other ; 
but such is not the truth, and hence both conclusions 
are wrong. We will try to simplify this subject, for 
the benefit of those who have not made it their study, 
and who may have embarrassments originating from 
this source. 

There is something in the nature of hazard, or risk, 
connected with each, and this is almost the only property 
possessed by them in common : for, in all then dis- 
tinctive qualities, they are widely different. To make this 
difference plain, we will state enough of the operation 
of each to explain their principles. 

Suppose it the intention to raise, say, twenty-five 
thousand dollars, by lottery ; the process would be — in 
principle — the following, varying, of course, in detail: 
Five thousand tickets are issued, and sold at ten dollars 



LOTTERIES AND INSURANCE. 



319 



each, making fifty thousand dollars ; but, to clear the 
sum desired, one half only of the amount, raised by the 
sale of tickets, is expended in the payment of prizes, 
leaving the other half as the gain by the operation. 
The prizes are temptingly blazoned out, perhaps, on 
something like the following scale: "Capital prize of 
$10,000; one prize of $5,000; one of $2,000; one 
of $1,000 ; twenty of $100 ; one hundred of $20, 
and three hundred of $10." In all $25,000 paid, or 
promised in prizes, out of $50,000 raised from tickets ; 
the other half blanks^ being the gain on the operation. 
Here the lottery manager takes a large sum from 
community, for which he gives back nothing of value. 
He has employed no capital, no useful art, no profes- 
sional skill, or science, but has drawn from the commu- 
nity $50,000, by the legerdemain of inducing them to 
believe that they will be largely gainers by receiving 
back one half of their own money paid out. This he 
is enabled to effect by presenting apparent chances of 
getting back, individually, more than was paid out for 
tickets. Aggregately, this cannot be, because the 
customers must, in the aggregate, lose one half the 
entire sum paid in, for that proportion goes into the 
manager's coffer, to remain. No man would buy all 
the tickets, because he knows that, on the whole, a loss 
of $25,000 nius^result to him ; yet many will buy one, 
or ten, in the unreasonable hope of making a gain by 
it. But what are the chances of such gain ? If you 
hold a ticket, and there should be no special fraud, or 
failure, on the part of the management, then, as there 
are but four prizes for which one would care to gamble 
in this way, the chances are 4,996 to four, against your 



320 



AMUSEMENTS. 



getting one of these ; and twelve to one against your 
getting any thing at all — even the cost of your ticket. 
Suppose yourself an inhabitant of a town containing 
5,000 souls: to know that one, or even four, of the 
inhabitants should die, within a year, would not sensibly 
affect your fears, because the chances of escape are so 
very great, that you scarcely feel that you are even 
liable to the calamity — much less in great danger — of 
being the victim. And yet your ground of alarm, in 
that case, is equal to your ground of hope in the other. 
In ordinary gaming, the gambler stakes his money 
equally against yours ; but the lottery gambler stakes 
your own money against you, and not a farthing of his 
own ; and you know before that, while the ticket buyers 
put up all the money, they must, of necessity, lose — • 
aggregately — one half the amount thus paid, when the 
game is played out, and that the manager of this safe 
farrow bank employs nothing, and risks nothing, but 
must, by the operation, get $25,000, for which he 
gives and promises nothing. The operation is this : 
Five thousand men bet, each ten dollars, making an 
aggregate stake of $50,000, that they will, respectively, 
get, by the fortuitous turn of a certain wheel, some 
portion of one half of the sum thus paid in, the other 
half being the gain of the operator. Regard the ticket 
holders as a unit, or a corporation acting by one agent, 
and no man, or agent, could be found silly enough to 
embark in the speculation, or obtuse enough not to 
discern its fraudulent and immoral character. The 
manager proclaims : " A chance for great speculation ; 
twenty-five thousand dollars, to be paid in prizes.'* 
"Very good," responds the agent, "I am your man: 



LOTTERIES AND INSURANCE. 



821 



give me fair terms, and I will take the whole, and so 
be sure of the $25,000. What will you take for the 
entire lot ?" " Ten dollars each, for 5,000 tickets, 
will secure the whole," answers the honest manager. 
"That is $50,000, I believe," rejoins the agent. 
" Thank you for nothing , Mr. Manager ; but I think 
it might be as well to keep my $50,000, as to pay you 
half of it, for handing me back the other half." 

After this simplifying exhibit of the matter, it can 
hardly be necessary to show, that the whole lottery 
system is gambling, more wrongful, unequal, and de- 
ceptive, than any of the common forms of this vice. 
In its original design it is fraudulent, and in contra- 
vention of the principles of common law, and common 
honesty, which forbid the taking of "something for 
nothing." Its effect, too, in exciting men to seek in 
this channel for unlawful gain, is most deleterious and 
immoral. Men have been stimulated to risk, and lose 
their all, and beggar their families, in this most decep- 
tive mode of gambling. And even in the rare instances 
in which the gambler, in lottery stock, has won a prize, 
the winning alike as the losing, was in violation of 
good conscience, and has, in nearly every case, proved a 
curse, rather than a blessing to the winner. 

The case of Insurance is very different. The 
object of the assured, is to protect himself against 
loss of property, for which he has honestly paid the 
value, by paying another to take the risk, or a part of 
it : in case of the lottery, the object is to gain property 
without giving value, and by means contrary to 
morality. But to explain the operation of insurance a 
little more fully : By a careful and extensive observing 



322 



AMUSEMENTS. 



of the statistics of morality, of losses by fire, and losses 
by the dangers of navigation, men have been able to 
calculate the proportion of loss, and, consequently, the 
amount of risk, with sufficient accuracy for practical 
purposes. Taking all the men of a nation, or all the 
buildings of a whole country, the aggregate number 
of deaths, or fires that occur yearly, may be ascertained, 
and from this, the average risk in each particular case. 
Now, suppose, for illustration, (and for the convenience 
of round numbers,) that one hundred men, have each 
a dwelling worth one thousand dollars ; this is their all 
of real property, and they are naturally desirous to 
protect themselves from losses, by the burning of their 
property. How can they gain that protection in a just 
and proper way ? The estimated average risk of loss 
by fire, on such property so situated, is, say, one per 
cent.; that is, the equal probability is, that one dollar 
in a hundred may be lost by fire, or one house of the 
hundred may burn down in each year. Upon the 
mutual plan — which is the only strictly equitable one — 
those men form themselves into an association, for 
mutual succor and protection, and, each man consents 
to an annual assessment on his property, of one per 
cent., or ten dollars a year on each man's building. 
This will raise a fund of $1000 to meet losses by fire ; 
and if, during the year, the house of one of the com- 
pany should be burned down, he has the loss made up 
to him, except his own assessment of ten dollars. 
Should no fire occur, the first year, the fund will be 
doubled the next year, and so on ; and then, on the 
occurrence of a larger loss, the accumulated means 
may be equal to the loss. Should the agreement of 



LOTTERIES AND INSURANCE. 



323 



mutual protection be for a specified term, and, at the 
expiration of that term, a surplus should be found on 
hand, it is divided among the contributors. But the 
families of these men are dependent on their labor for 
subsistence ; and, in case of the death of one, his family 
will be left destitute. Wishing to provide against this 
result, they embrace life insurance, in their plan of 
mutual protection, on the same general principle. 
Suppose, then, the estimated probabilities of a man's 
death within a year, be equal to one and a half per 
cent. ; then, if he would secure to his family $1000, in 
the event of his death, he pays in fifteen dollars a year, 
and the operation is as in the other case. But, 
suppose no such mutual association is formed, or 
accessible, then the next resort is, to stock companies, 
organized for the same purpose. In that case, stock is 
taken and paid in, forming a fund to cover losses. But 
as with such companies, the prime object is gain, or 
profit, they will make their estimates, and fix their rates 
of premium, with a view, not merely to cover losses, as 
in the cases of mutual insurance, but to receive a 
profit on the capital invested ; and the surplus goes to 
the stock owners, and not to those insured, as in the 
other case. 

The mutual plan is much to be preferred, as having 
connected only the simple object of mutual protection. 
But, however modified in detail, the real principle of 
insurance is the same, and is not only moral, but highly 
expedient. It is in the mutual, as if one friend should 
agree with another, " If your house burn, I will aid 
you to rebuild, provided, you will aid me in case such 
a calamity overtakes me : and, if I die first, you shall 



324 LOTTERIES AND INSURANCE. 

give aid in supporting my family, and I will do the same 
for yours, should you die first." In other modes of 
insurance, it takes on more of a business form, and the 
stock company says to the customer, "We will repair, 
or repay any loss you may sustain, provided, you will 
pay us a sum equal to the risk, trouble, and invest- 
ment." In insurance, the design is to give value — 
averagely estimated — for the protection afforded; in 
lotteries, it is the reverse. 

g 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
AMUSEMENTS.— SINGING.— BEADING. 



Poetry and song the language of feeling — Common to all states of 
society — Specially suited to devotion — Two extremes — Errors and 
evils in common musical education — A class of devotional songs 
of questionable propriety — Reading — What is necessary to its 
profltting — Political papers — their bitterness — Fashionable Periodi- 
cals — Books of infidel tendency — varied to suit different tastes — 
Works of fiction even more hurtful — chiefly calculated to excite 
passions and corrupt the heart — Destroys a taste for solid reading 
Testimony against — Prejudicial to domestic happiness — should be 
discouraged by pulpit and press. 

"The singing those songs which do not tend 
to the knowledge and love of god." 

Singing. — Poetry is the language of imagination 
and feeling, and singing is the natural vocal expression 
of the feelings, as embodied in the language of poetry. 

As poetry, in some form — crude or more refined — is 
found among the early productions of all nations, and 
constitutes a prominent element of the unperfected 
literature of people, in the earlier stages of civilization ; 
so singing, which gives effective utterance to the senti- 
ments of poetry, seems to have been in use coevally 
with poetry itself. The language of passion, of deep 
feeling, of devotion, has been uttered in song, in all ages 
and countries of which history affords us any knowledge. 
It was conspicuous in the rites and orgies of the pagan 



326 



AMUSEMENTS i 



divinities, and, from the first institution of congrega- 
tional worship, constituted an important part of public 
and social devotion. It is a most effective means of 
impressing the mind, directing the passions, and influ- 
encing the will ; and has, therefore, ever been employed 
by the religious, to quicken devotional feeling ; by the 
patriot, to strengthen love of country ; by the warrior, 
to kindle the martial fire in the soldier's bosom ; by the 
lover, to soften the heart of his mistress ; by the 
politician, to advance the cause of his party; by the 
demagogue, to secure the object of his ambition ; by 
the bereaved and afflicted, to express and alleviate their 
sorrow ; and, by the happy, to give utterance and 
augmentation to their joy. It is a universal language, 
the language of feeling, whose very tones render it 
intelligible throughout the earth. The bold note of 
victory ; the merry song of gladness ; the devotional 
breathing of the holy anthem ; the low plaint of love ; 
the wail of the funeral dirge; these are understood 
alike every where. 

An instrumentality so potent, which is capable of 
such mighty control over the human mind and 
passions, which can achieve so much of good or evil, 
should be rightly directed, that so it may be rendered, 
as was the design of the Creator, a source of blessing, 
and a means of good to our race. And this is the 
object of the rule we now have under considera- 
tion. 

Singing appears to have been specially designed 
to promote and cherish devotional feelings, and is 
peculiarly suited to this end ; yet it is not restricted 
to that object. The question here presented is, what 



SINGING . 



32V 



is prohibited, and what permitted, by the language of 
the rule. 

Two extremes are found in this, as on most other 
subjects. On the one hand, every thing is condemned 
that is not properly devotional, or religious singing ; 
■while, on the other, any sentiment or passion seems to 
be regarded as innocent, so that it be but embodied in 
poetic form, and expressed- by singing. There is, 
certainly, a well denned difference between prose and 
poetry, and between speaking and singing; but that 
there is a moral difference between a sentiment spoken 
in prose, and the same sentiment, when sung in 
poetry, appears to us preposterous. And, yet, such 
a distinction is practically assumed and acted out, and 
the effect is error, confusion, and mischief. The 
confounding of moral distinctions which really exist, 
and the recognizing of such as do not really exist, must 
ever be productive of confusion and error. 

There are persons who have no scruples in reading, 
or in expressing, in conversation, thoughts, sentiments, 
or feelings, whose moral tendency may well be 
questioned ; but those same persons would feel quite 
guilty, were they to utter the same thing in singing. 
They happened, in some incidental way, to conceive 
of " song-singing "as a moral obliquity of grave 
magnitude ; and, while foolish talking, jesting, and 
levity of language, are freely indulged in, their moral 
sensibilities are greatly shocked to hear another person 
sing what they themselves have spoken with much 
relish. 

Aye, there are those who will talk nonsense, or 
worse, all day, to the detriment or destruction of every 



828 



AMUSEMENTS. 



religious feeling ; but denounce, as heinous, the singing 
of a sensible, moral, or patriotic song ; and even a 
temperance song disturbs the equanimity of their 
pious nerves. This seems inconsistent, if not foolish. 
But the opposite extreme, if not more foolish and 
weak, is more wicked and corrupting in tendency. 
Those, on that extreme, seem to think it proper to sing 
a thousand things which it would be utterly improper 
to express in colloquial intercourse. Unfortunately, 
this error is found to possess the hearts of many of our 
cultivated young females ; and, indeed, it is grounded 
into their susceptible young minds, almost with their first 
" music lessons " at boarding school. The truth is, 
there is a faultiness prevalent in this department of 
education, which demands the application of a cor- 
rective. Our daughters must be taught music, 
which is very well, if properly done ; but, in order to 
such teaching, they are, very generally, put under the 
instruction of some foreigner, or other person, employed 
for his musical attainments alone, without any regard 
to moral habits, or religious principles. Not a few 
of these are infidel in sentiment, and in morals disso- 
lute ; and more likely, therefore, to corrupt, than to 
correct the moral tastes of those committed to their 
care. Accordingly, our young ladies " practice" 
on any thing that comes to hand, not absolutely 
obscene ; and words are put into their lips con- 
nected with their music lessons, from the use 
of which their native modesty, at first, instinctively 
shrinks back ; but it is only following the universal cur- 
rent, and to object would but be looked on as prudish 
affectation; and, finally, they become familiarized with 



SINGING. 



329 



what, at first, produced revulsion, and can sing with 
apparent gust, the whole catalogue of fashionable 
songs. 

When pupilage has ended, and those young ladies 
are called on to perform on the piano, or guitar, or 
harp, for the entertainment of social circles, their 
performances must fall within the scope of their musical 
education, and they can give only the fashionable airs, 
and words of levity, which they have been taught at 
school. 

It has frequently happened, that a pious parent, 
who has paid out hundreds for the music lessons of his 
daughter, and has procured her a costly instrument, 
when she — a member of the Church — has returned 
home, and he has asked her to perform some favorite 
piece, religious, or at least moral, in its character, 
she has replied by a significant smile, which seemed a 
compound of pity for his ignorance, and good natured 
ridicule of his old-fashioned taste and want of refine- 
ment. If asked to sing those pious songs which used 
to flow from her lips with so much warmth and delight, 
she declares that she can only sing in connection with her 
instrument ; but, in that connection, she can sing only 
those romantic compositions, or amorous ditties she has 
been taught. And this attainment, which should be 
made the instrument of good, and enjoyment to its 
possessor and her friends, and especially her parents, 
is wholly perverted, and becomes, in but too many 
instances, worse than useless. Worse than useless we 
say, because, while it fails of the good ends to which it 
is applicable, it is rendered subservient to purposes 

of evil. Music, and, especially, when breathed in 
28 



330 



AMUSEMENTS. 



heart-felt, innocent, or pious song, without or with 
an instrument, is calculated to soften the feelings, to 
sweeten the temper, to promote cheerfulness, and even 
to quicken devotion ; but when a duly accomplished 
young lady can sing only "to her light guitar," or as 
an accompaniment to the piano or harp, and this not in 
sensible or pious composition for her own edification, 
and that of her family, but only for display in 
fashionable assemblies, or to make an impression on 
some wealthy beau, and then in words of pretty 
nonsense, or equivocal entendre, and these screamed, or 
sighed, or whispered out in tones and cadences of most 
scientific and languishing affectation ; when her parents 
are regarded as auditors too unimportant to call out her 
musical attainments ; when her husband is made to 
understand, too late, that those attainments were 
not designed as a means of cheering and solace to him 
through life, but only to serve as the lure, by which he 
was to be brought within matrimonial toils — that the 
sweet seductive tones, so animated and charming in 
wooing time, are to be dumb in wedlock, and that the 
last uncheery note is to expire with the waning beam 
of the short honey-moon, it may well be inquired 
wherein is the profiting, the permanent benefits promised 
by the attainment. 

Furthermore ; the girl sent by pious parents to a 
religious school, under the care of a minister of the 
gospel, to learn all the nonsense and levity connected 
with a fashionable musical education, will naturally, and 
innocently — as a child — utter those words she is com- 
manded to sing, while thumbing her instrument, though 
not without some modest hesitancy ; but when, as a 



young lady, she sings and plajs, for some ardent, young 
admirer, her old and practiced words, which, from 
long use, have almost become meaningless with her, 
such as, "Am I not fondly thine own," " Come, rest in 
this bosom," or that execrable sentiment — as usually 
applied — "I but know that I love thee, whatever thou 
art" she fails not to perceive how effectively she has 
touched the chords of passion in the young man's heart ; 
and this discovery brings back its reflex influence upon 
her own passions, which gives yet deeper emphasis, and 
touching pathos, to the tender passages of her per- 
formance. Thus, while she conquers, she is herself 
vanquished ; while she disarms her antagonist, she has 
lost her own armor in the process; and, if she has 
fanned a volcanoe in the bosom of her admirer, she has 
but poured oil on the smouldering embers of passion in 
her own. In all this there is nothing to improve the 
mind, or to make the heart better ; but the strong, 
natural tendency, is in the opposite direction. And to 
say that such musical wooings sometimes result in happy 
matrimonial alliances, is no more than saying, that the 
frail bark is sometimes fortuitously driven into a safe 
harbor, by the very tempest which imperilled and 
threatened to destroy it. Reason, prudence, virtue, 
had about as much to do in producing the first result, 
as nautical skill, or good seamanship, had to do with 
the other. 

To us, it does appear, that this is a point of danger 
that has not been well guarded by religious parents 
and teachers. In no part of a young lady's education 
is it easier — if so easy— unsuspectedly, to mislead in 
the direction of danger, and yet no other is so inse- 



332 



AMUSEMENTS. 



eurely guarded. Few men would place a daughter 
under the educational care of a known infidel, or a 
libertine ; and yet, it is to be feared, that the proportion 
of such men, in the department of musical instruction, 
is alarmingly large. 

It may be doubted, whether all the songs and singing, 
claiming to be devotional, really tends to the knowledge 
and love of God. The hymns contained in our hymn 
books, and which we use in congregational worship, 
generally, are sensible, and full of sound and instructive 
divinity, to be sure ; but there have crept in, among us, 
many songs called " spiritual," which have in them 
little of poetry, good sense, or doctrine ; some of them 
consisting, almost wholly, of a continuous repetition of 
a few unmeaning sentences, and these sung to tunes of 
light and mirthful character — tunes, in many instances, 
borrowed from words profane, light, or loose, associating 
in the mind their origin, and former connection. Of 
such, we say, it may be gravely doubted, whether they 
"tend to the knowledge and love of God." That such 
songs may tend to enliven and animate, is not questioned ; 
but these effects, in the total absence of Christian 
doctrine, instruction, or devotion, can have no tendency 
to promote the knowledge, or love of God. They may 
stir the blood, and produce a momentary glow of feel- 
ing ; but do they leave behind any thing of the lave, 
or knowledge of God, as the result of their influence ? 
We fear not. Since, then, we have abundance of 
hymns, and spiritual songs, which, if rightly employed, 
do tend to the desirable ends specified in the rule, let 
us employ them in glorifying God, and avoid those 
•whose tendency is evil, or even doubtful. 



READING. 



333 



"Reading those books which do not tend to the 
knowledge and love op god." 

Reading is a great source of knowledge, of which it 
is the duty of all, who have it in their power, to avail 
themselves. But this invaluable instrument of know- 
ledge and virtue is, by multitudes, perverted, and made 
the means of evil, and source of mischief. Many there 
are, who, though they read much, gain no real wisdom 
by their reading, and are rendered less virtuous, useful, 
and happy, than they would have been had they never 
read at all. 

To read profitably, it is necessary, not only to select 
good books, and other reading matter — the thing 
specially enjoined in this rule — but also to read care- 
fully, studiously, digestively. There are those who 
read almost incessantly, yet never master the subjects 
upon which they read. A few books, judiciously 
selected, and thoroughly studied, will impart more 
substantial knowledge, than the reading of whole 
libraries in a careless and hurried manner. We have 
heard men boast of having read a thousand, or more, 
pages within a week, of historical, scientific, or argu- 
mentative matter ; and the consequence was, that they 
had acquired less information than they would have 
obtained by carefully studying fifty pages of the same 
matter. Mental food, like physical, gives strength and 
nourishment only when taken in such manner as to be 
thoroughly digested ; while, in the one case, as in the 
other, a mass of mere crudities received, but burdens 
and enervates, and tends more to injury than benefit. 

Mr. Buck has judiciously said, " Much reading is no 
proof of much learning ; fast readers are often desultory 



AMUSEMENTS 



ones. Hence the reason some know so little, is because 
they read so much. The helluo librorum, (literary 
glutton,) and the true scholar, are two very different 
characters." 

The same author tells of a young man, who boasted 
of having gone entirely through Euclid's Elements in 
one afternoon ; and, when asked if he had mastered all 
the demonstrations, and solved all the problems, in that 
short time, answered, " I suppose you mean the A's, 
and B's, and C's, and l's, and 2's, and 3's, and the 
pictures of scratches and scrawls. No, no, I skipt all 
them. I only read Euclid himself, and all Euclid I did 
read, and in one piece of the afternoon." And many 
persons, who boast of their extensive reading, acquire 
thereby about the same knowledge of the subjects of 
which they read, that this young charlatan acquired of 
the science of geometry. 

But the rule under consideration has special respect 
to the proper selection of books. This is of much 
importance, for no carefulness, or study, can bring 
good or profit out of a book calculated only to minister 
to the depravity of human nature. And, unfortunately, 
books of this character are fearfully abundant in this 
age and country. Nor is the evil confined to books 
alone, but a large proportion of the periodical literature 
of the day is found in the same general category. 
Even the political newspapers of our country are not 
free from the just imputation of immoral tendency. 
So very zealous are they in the advocacy of their 
respective parties, and leaders, and so bitter and 
vituperative in denouncing their political antagonists, 
that, agreeably to the strong representations of one 



READING. 



335 



party, the men connected with the other, and especially 
its distinguished men, are held up before the public as 
enemies to their country, and destitute of every correct 
and honorable principle. Generally, those papers are 
utterly unfit to be put into the hands of our children ; 
for, if they are permitted to drink from fountains of so 
much bitterness, prejudice, and partiality, they will 
learn, from their very infancy, to execrate many of the 
best and wisest public men of the country, as knaves 
and traitors. Accordingly, even children, under such 
tuition, have been heard, abusively, to denounce Cass, 
Taylor, Fillmore, and Butler, with the acrimony of 
veteran demagogues. Of those men the country has 
been proud, and against no one of them have we ever 
heard ought, except as originating in political partyism ; 
and yet, children are taught, by the political papers 
they read, to entertain, towards such men, a malignity 
of feeling, which will, probably, accompany them 
through life. Following the lead of their respective 
political papers, neighbors, friends, fellow church 
members, and even members of the same family, have 
become cool, distant, and finally hostile to each other, 
and, in some instances, have remained enemies for life. 
The tendency of this evil is, to the destruction of confi- 
dence and harmony in the State, in the Church, and in 
the social circle. 

It is certainly proper, that there should be vehicles 
for the communication of correct political information ; 
but when the press is prostituted to the end of party 
triumph, and personal preferment, by means reckless 
and dishonorable, the evil demands correction, and calls 
for practical rebuke, on the part of Christians, and al] 



S36 



AMUSEMENTS. 



who value public morals, and social harmony, above the 
advancement of demagogues, and the interests of 
partizan editors. 

There is another class of periodicals, whose tendency 
is not the best; we mean the elegant, fashionable 
monthlies, and popular hebdomadals. The grand attrac- 
tions of these, consist in trashy tales, preternaturally 
colored, small wit, conundrums, puzzles, " shocking 
accidents," "brutal murders," and the like. They 
contain but little useful information, and, in many 
cases, still less calculated to promote virtue or piety ; 
and though some of them are, in a measure, free from 
the accusations here brought, the proportion is small of 
such as can, in their entire contents, be safely admitted 
to our family circles. 

Of books of evil tendency, there are several classes, 
and many that it might be difficult to assign to any 
appropriate classification. First among these, we 
notice books of infidel tendency. These, again, are of 
different kinds, intended to suit various tastes, and 
different degrees of intelligence on the part of the 
readers. 

If the reader is coarse, vulgar, superficial, and 
desirous to find a theory to protect his conscience in a 
course of licentiousness, the scathing irony, the un- 
argumentative flippancy, the coarse ribaldry, and 
obscene jests of Payne, will be likely to suit his 
taste. But as this writer was utterly ignorant of the 
book he opposed, and employs no solid reasoning against 
the Bible, many persons, willing to be unbelievers, can 
yet not be satisfied to receive low wit, and vulgar jests, 
as sufficient to justify the rejection of a book received 



337 



as of divine origin, by the wisest and best of mankind. 
Such will be likely to find, in the subtleties of Hume, 
the historical guise of Gibbon, the philosophical works 
of Voltaire, or the elegant, but contradictory fictions 
of Volney, a temporary salvo for the upbraidings of a 
troublesome conscience. Many young men of fine 
promise, the pride and hope of their families, have been 
seduced from the principles of morality, and the prac- 
tice of virtue, through the instrumentanty of such 
books; and, especially, when presented and recom- 
mended by men, whom they have been taught to regard 
as their superiors in intelligence, as in experience. And 
hoary apostles of infidelity, have employed such works 
to mislead coruiding youth into paths of danger and 
destruction. One of the successful lures employed to 
draw the unsuspecting into the meshes of infidelity, 
has been to represent the Christian revelation as the 
offspring of ignorance ; and the religion of Christ, as 
suited only to weak, uncultivated, and superstitious 
minds ; while infidelity is decked out in a stolen garb of 
philosophy, science, and reason. The men, and the 
books of which we have been speaking, persuade young 
men that to despise the holy truths, and moral restraints 
imposed by the Bible, is to declare their mental inde- 
pendence, and to take high rank with the great philoso- 
phers of the earth. And the depraved heart affords 
but too genial a soil, for the ready reception of such 
poisonous seed; and wrecked hopes, and ruined morals, 
are the unhallowed harvest produced. Where a direct 
assault on the principles of virtue is not likely to be 
successful, in the first instance, a resort is had to such 
strategy, and scientific disguises, as will most effectually 
29 



338 



AMUSEMENTS. 



cover the real design ; and, as the subjects, or victims^ 
become prepared for stronger meat, a portion of the 
disguise is thrown off, and books of ranker impiety 
are put into their hands, until, finally, they are fully 
graduated in the school of theoretical and practical 
ungodliness, 

It has sometimes happened, that a too great eager- 
ness to bring forward the pupil rapidly, has defeated 
its object. An instance of this kind came under our 
notice, a few years ago. A veteran destroyer of 
youth, having first put the introductory books into the 
hands of a young man, inclined to profligacy and 
dissipation, and thinking his pupil prepared for stronger 
doctrines, pronounced the immortality of the soul, and 
a future state, a miserable humbug. This disciple was 
shocked ; the thought of annihilation preyed terribly on 
his mind, conviction fastened on his conscience, and he 
rested not, until assured of an interest in the Son of 
David, whom he had been taught to despise as an 
imposter. 

But, there is yet another class of books more dan- 
gerous, and mischievous in the aggregate, than those 
we have named, because more pleasing, plausible, and 
insinuating. We, of course, allude to what are called 
novels, romances, &c. These are usually very fasci- 
nating ; rendered so by a pleasing, or elegant style of 
composition ; by fictitious creations of daring exploits, 
wild adventure, graphic delineations, bloody conflicts, 
affairs of love, and whatever else is calculated to 
interest the feelings, and produce mental excitement. 

That there are works of fiction, of innocent character, 
and even of useful tendency, is not to be denied ; for, 



HEADING. 



339 



excluding moral and historical productions of this class, 
most of the higher order of poetry, moral and instruc- 
tive fables, allegories and metaphors, and even the 
excellent parables of the Holy Scriptures, partake of 
the quality of fiction. But though the prophets and 
poets of the Bible, and Christ himself, employed this 
description of composition, to illustrate and enforce 
sacred truth and Christian duty, it has, of late, been 
vilely prostituted to the worst of uses. A very large 
proportion of works of fiction, at the present day, are 
employed to excite the passions, and corrupt the heart. 
Novel writers frame their productions to suit the 
demand in the market ; and well knowing, that the 
multitude read for excitement, and not for information, 
and that what addresses and excites the depraved 
passions, will be more readily purchased, and read, with 
a more greedy avidity, than that which addresses the 
understanding, and the moral sense, and requires 
thought and research, they accommodate their works 
to a vitiated state of popular taste, which taste those 
works, in turn, strongly tend still more deeply to 
corrupt. Such is the character of the novels of this 
age, generally, and such their evil tendency, that the 
friends of religion, of morality, of solid learning, and 
of domestic happiness, are alike bound, by the most 
sacred obligations of duty and interest, to use all 
honorable means for their banishment from the centre 
table, and the family library. 

For, where the love of novel reading takes possession 
of the heart, the love of pure and rational piety cannot 
gain admittance ; or, if previously there, must, inevi- 
tably, be expelled : and we might safely challenge all 



340 



AMUSEMENTS. 



Christendom for an instance in which an inveterate, 
novel reader has, at the same time, exhibited the 
enjoyments and fruits of a consistent, vital piety. 
And, if the act be not in itself directly immoral, it, 
in many instances, so gilds and sanctifies immorality, 
as to divest it, in a great degree, of its odious and 
abhorrent features — draws the reader into close sym- 
pathy with violators of all the statutes of gospel 
morality, and thus tends to the demoralization of the 
feelings, the principles, and, finally, the habits of its 
votary. 

And, as it respects solid learning, it has not a 
more subtle, determined, or successful enemy, than 
the passion for novel reading. It is mental dissipation ; 
it excites the passions, and engrosses the mind, while 
the machinery of sober, studious thought, is left dor- 
mant. You read, not to gain knowledge, but for the 
excitement produced ; just as the confirmed inebriate 
drinks, not to quench thirst, but to gratify a vicious 
appetite, and produce excitement. And nothing can 
stand in a relation of strong antagonism to solid science 
and real literature, than this- — falsely styled — literature. 
Neither the lovers, the readers, nor the writers of our 
novels, belong to the class of real scholars, or, at best, 
so only in extremely meagre proportion. True, some 
scholars have written novels, and, hence, the assumption 
seems to be set up, that all the writers of trashy fiction 
are men of literature — every such writer seeming to 
regard himself as entitled to a niche in the temple 
of literary fame, side by side with Sir Walter Scott. 
If, however, the great Northern leviathan could have 
foreseen, that his historical novels would place him in a 



READING. 



341 



sort of relation of paternity, to all the slimy spawn, and 
literary tadpole tribe, which stir the miasmatic scum of 
the green pools of licentious fiction, it may well be 
doubted, whether he would have felt flattered by the 
character of the progeny. To suppose great mental 
power, and large literary attainments, necessary to the 
production of a modern novel, is a great mistake ; a 
sprightly imagination, a few scraps of French, a spicing 
of love and murder, and a dash of the licentious, will 
be found sufficient to procure, for a novel writer, a run 
of popular favor. But, furthermore, the novels of the 
day, not only contain no solid learning, and create no 
appetite to taste for such learning, but operate adversely 
to it. Beattie, in his moral science, says, " To contract a 
habit of reading romances is extremely dangerous. They 
who do so, lose all relish for history, philosophy, and 
other useful knowledge, acquire a superficial and 
frivolous way of thinking, and never fail to form false 
notions of life, which come to be hurtful to young 
people, when they go out into the world." 

The testimony of the wise and good, to the general 
bad effects of these productions, is unanimous and 
strong ; a few of which only we will quote. An author 
of distinction says, "Novels, according to the most 
celebrated authors on ethics, are, in general, the most 
insignificant and trifling of all the literary performances ; 
they are the productions of those who write for bread, 
or the offspring of vanity ; and the greater part of 
them are mean imitations of some successful compo- 
sitions that have gone before them. When young 
persons waste their time in reading novels, the value of 
the ill spent hours is not all that is regretted : it is the 



342 



AMUSEMENTS. 



bad effect generally produced upon their minds, and, in 
many instances, on their morals. In novels, plays, 
romances — for all of them tend to the same end, 
the amusement of the idle- — views of life are repre- 
sented differently from what it really is ; of course, 
virtue and vice receive a colouring which does not 
belong to them, and cannot but vitiate the taste of the 
reader, without leaving after it a single particle of 
useful knowledge ; and for those reasons, they ought to 
be kept from youth. 

" Some authors have shown, that there are novels 
which have a tendency to debauch the innocent heart, 
on account of which I will say, with a moralist, 4 that 
genius, when employed on works whose tendency it is 
to demoralize, and to degrade us, should be contem- 
plated with abhorrence, rather than with admiration; 
such a monument of its power may, indeed, be stamped 
with immortality, but, like the Colosseum at Rome, we 
deplore its magnificence, because we detest the purpose 
for which it was designed.' " 

Rev. John Bennet says, "A volume would not be 
sufficient to expose the dangers of novels. They lead 
young people into an enchanted country, and open to 
their view an imaginary world, full of inviolable friend- 
ship attachment, ecstacies, accomplishments, prodigies, 
and such visionary joys, as never will be realized in the 
coarseness of common life. The romantic turn they 
create, indisposes for every thing that is rational or 
substantial. They corrupt all principle, unnerve forti- 
tude, and substitute, in its place, a sickly sensibility, 
that cannot relish common blessings, or common things ; 
that is continually wounded with its own fancies, and 



READING. 343 

ever 'ready to expire of a rose, in aromatic pain.' 
Their sentiment is but a fine spun word for indelicate 
emotions. Their sympathy and friendships are, often, 
but a specious, flimsy covering for criminal attachments. 
Such false, overstrained ideas, have led many a poor 
girl to ruin. Under the notion of superior refinement, 
similarity of souls, and involuntary friendship, she has, 
gradually, been seduced from the paths of virtue to the 
commission of the grossest crimes. A fine, splendid 
idea, has been used to paliate a dreadful action. 
Sentiment has triumphed over the vulgar shackles 
of conscience, and of every social and moral obliga- 
tion." 

Novel reading introduces its votaries to an imaginary 
world, a world of fiction, and peoples it with angels 
and heroes, of superhuman perfection ; it generates 
aversion to the books and studies which we ought to 
love and cherish, to the duties we should perform, the 
business we must prosecute, and the persons with whom 
we must associate. It is productive of romantic and 
incongruous attachments, of reckless and foolish elope- 
ments and alliances, and is the fruitful source of 
innumerable unhappy matches. 

A young man, who prudently respects his own 
happiness, will hesitate long before uniting his destiny 
with that of a novel-loving young lady, or committing 
his domestic hopes to the keeping of one so visionary 
and ethereal, in all her notions, so unreasonable in all 
iier expectations. "We dare not say that no novel-read- 
ing young lady ever so far reformed as to become a 
good wife, no more than that no confirmed rake ever 
makes a good husband ' f but the instances are, doubt 



AMUSEMENTS 



less, as rare in the one case as in the other ; and the 
young man who selects the first as a companion, enters 
upon an adventure of nearly equal perilousness as the 
young lady -who accepts the hand of the second. Nor 
will we say, positively, that no inveterate novel-reading 
lady can be a good wife and mother ; but, if there be 
such an one, who is characterized by neatness, industry, 
and domestic economy, as the female head of a family, 
by constancy and affection, as a wife, and by tenderness , 
attention, and devotedness, as a mother, we have neither 
seen nor heard of the remarkable phenomenon. 

And if this habit is unworthy an intellectual, or 
Christian lady, how utterly unbecoming must it be to 
the character of a dignified gentleman, and cultivated 
scholar. The sickly sentimentahsm, and morbid sensi- 
bility, generated by it, are incompatible with the 
manlier qualities which should characterize man. 

Pity it is that this pernicious practice receives such 
general encouragement, to the great detriment of real 
literature, vital piety, and domestic happiness, The 
pulpit, the religious press, and the united voice of 
Christians every where, should be directed to the 
extermination of this great evih Let Methodist minis- 
ters remember, that, by this rule, it is made then* duty 
to admonish all such offenders of the error of their 
ways ; and, if they prove incorrigible, and "will not be 
reproved," they should be brought under discipline, 
and removed from the vineyard as fruitless trees, and 
cumberers of the ground, This last resort, however, 
would probably be rarely necessary, if preachers were 
faithful in guarding members, from their first entrance 
into the Church, against the evil. But it is to be feared, 



READING. 



345 



that too many of them have not the faithfulness to 
guard their members against the danger ; nor the inde- 
pendence and firmness to attempt their reformation, 
after they have strayed ; nor to rid the church of them 
after they have become confirmed in the vice, and, 
through its influence, hare lost both the form and the 
power of godliness. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



SELF-INDULGENCE — WORLDLY MLNDEDNE S S — 
DISHONESTY IN BORROWING AND BUYING. 



" Softness," &c. — Duty of self-denial and cross-bearing — Effemi- 
nacy unbecoming the soldiers of Christ — Especially ministers of 
the Gospel — Example of our fathers — Laying up treasures,' 
&c. — Inconsistency, danger, and folly of Christians laying up 
treasures on earth — Bisnops' note on the plea — " Borrowing, 
&c. — Piety and morality inseparable — A good rule to avoid going 
in debt — Bishops' note on the plea — Punctuality 

" Softness and needless self-indulgence." — 
To endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ, is a 
duty resting on all who have enlisted to do battle in the 
cause of the Lord Jesus ; and this duty poorly com- 
ports with the effeminacy of habit, and love of ease, so 
prevalent among professors of Christianity, and espe- 
cially among the wealthy. We are commanded to deny 
ourselves, and take up our cross daily, if we would be 
the disciples of our Lord ; but when we see Christians 
living in ease and luxury, indulging every appetite to 
the full, conforming to the maxims and manners of the 
world in dress, in equipage, in style of living — pursuing 
a course not to become unpopular with the ungodly and 
the fashionable ones around them — carefully avoiding all 
imputations of religious strictness, we are utterly at 



SELF-INDULGENCE. 



347 



fault in finding wherein their self-denial and cross- 
bearing consists. If the weather be cold, or damp, or 
warm, to an uncomfortable degree, they cannot go out 
to the house of God, for this would conflict with their 
habits of self-indulgence. Or, if an irreligious Sabbath 
visiter happen to call at the hour of religious worship, 
duty to God must be neglected, and the command of 
the Most High disobeyed, to gratify the preferences of 
a despiser, or, at best, neglecter of religion ; because, 
to do otherwise would require the taking up of a cross, 
and cross-bearing makes up no part of the religion of 
such indolent and ease-loving Christians. They are 
willing to follow Christ when loaves and fishes are to be 
distributed, when the people are ready to take him by 
force, and make him a king, or when the multitude cast 
palm branches in his way, and cry Hosanna ; but when 
the popular cry is, away with him, crucify him, if they 
do not join in the popular clamor, they are silent, and 
walk no more with him, or, at best, follow him afar off. 
So long as we remain in a world of sin, of enemies and 
afflictions, the service of God must be a matter of self- 
denial, cross-bearing, and persecution ; and they who 
are unwilling to accept of Christ and heaven, on terms 
so contrary to human nature, may indeed be " called 
by his name to take away their reproach ;' ? but in the 
clay of the Lord they shall stand without, saying, Lord, 
Lord, open unto us ; but He, from within, shall say 
unto them, Depart from me, for I know you not. 

But if softness and needless self-indulgence, is un- 
becoming the character of a member of the Church of 
Christ, how much more so a minister of his holy 
religion ? Our Master was incessant, in labors and 



848 



SELF-INDULGENCE. 



sufferings, yet had not where to lay his head. A life 
of toil, poverty, and persecution, was terminated by a 
death of ignominy and anguish. " Is the servant above 
his master, or the disciple above his Lord ?" And yet, 
when his ministers drink but a drop, from the cup of 
bitterness which he drank to the dregs, how ready are 
they to complain of the hardness of then lot. The 
apostles and early disciples, suffered the loss of all things 
in the cause of their Lord — ease, comfort, property, 
reputation, and life itself, and yet, instead of murmur- 
ing at their lot, they glorified in being counted worthy 
to be partakers of the sufferings of Christ. The pious 
reformers followed in the steps of their holy examplars, 
and were strangers to ease, indolence, and luxury ; the 
fathers and pioneers of our own Church, were not 
unworthy the pious men they followed, but cheerfully 
labored and suffered abundantly to cultivate Emanuel's 
lands. A more laborious, self-denying set of men, has 
not lived in the world since the time of the apostles, 
than the earlier stock of Methodist preachers; and 
through their untiring exertions, and quenchless zeal, 
great blessings have been conferred on this generation, 
and the world. And what they bought at the cost of 
comfort, health, and life itself, shall we, their sons, 
jeopard, forfeit, or sell for ease, repose, self-indul- 
gence ? 

YvTiere their sweat and blood enriched the vineyard 
of the Lord, shall softness, and needless self-indulgence 
on our part, cause it to be overgrown with thorns and 
briars — to be trodden down by the beasts of the moun- 
tain, or destroyed by the wild boar of the forest ? We 
think of the persecutions, privations, hardships, and 



SELF-INDULGENCE . 



349 



astonishing labors , and journey ings of Wesley, of 
Whitefield, Asbury, McKendree, Lee, Garretson, and 
of hundreds of our pioneers, who penetrated the un- 
broken wilderness — preaching twice, thrice, frequently 
four times a day — travelling twenty, thirty, or forty 
rniles, encountering frowns, storms, hatred and curses ; 
often lodging in camps, or in the woods, and at best, in 
poor open hovels, living on coarse and scanty fare, and 
receiving no compensation for their arduous labors, or 
next to none ; and then find ourselves inclined to com- 
plain of the labors, and compensation of a light and 
pleasant circuit, district, or station, which, as compared 
with those of our fathers, can hardly be regarded as 
more than a pleasant and well paid recreation, we 
should stand rebuked by the lives, labors, and sufferings 
of those holy, self-sacrificing men, through whose 
faithful instrumentality, we have been enabled to enter 
into a pleasant field made ready to our hand. 

It is true, that the improvements of the country, and 
the extention, and strengthening of the Church, render 
the privations and sufferings endured by our fathers, 
now unnecessary — generally. The Church can now 
make the condition of her faithful ministers, in most 
places, temporally comfortable, and cannot stand guilt- 
less in neglecting to do so ;. yet, it is also true, that 
there is much land yet to be possessed, the conquering 
of which will call for the same spirit of sacrifice and 
labor, that has achieved so much heretofore. The dark 
places of our country must be visited, the banner of the 
cross must float up from the Rocky Mountains, the 
voice of gospel invitation must be heard along the 
Pacific shore, the almost interminable intervening desert 



850 



LAYING UP TREASURE ON EARTH. 



must receive the light of salvation, and, to the heathen 
lands, the message must be carried ; and men of 
" softness and needless self-indulgence," can never be 
the honored instruments of so arduous a work, so 
glorious an achievement. 

" Laying up treasure on earth." — "Lay not up 
for yourselves treasure on earth, but lay up treasure in 
heaven. Love not the world, nor the things of the 
world. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The love 
of money, is the root of all evil." These, and the like 
declarations of inspired truth, admonish us of the folly 
of laying up treasure on earth, and the necessity of 
securing an inheritance where rust doth not corrupt, 
nor thieves break through and steal. 

That we may fully understand the import of this 
rule, and the divine command upon which it is based, 
we must bear in mind, that our treasure is that upon 
which our hearts are placed. Accordingly, Christ 
says, " Where your treasure is, there will your heart 
be also." The unspeakable riches of heaven, constitute 
no treasure to him whose heart is buried in the rubbish 
of earth. And so also, though a man have large pos- 
sessions in the world, these are not his treasure, if his 
affection be set on tilings above. 

Perhaps, worldly-mindeclness is the dominant sin of 
professors of religion in this country. Temptations to 
seek wealth are so numerous and strong ; fortunes are 
so suddenly acquired here by successful speculation, 
that many professors of religion are drawn into the 
snare. In countries, where successive generations 
follow on in the same track, each one expecting only to 



LAYING UP TREASURE ON EARTH. 351 

spend his life in the humble manner of his fathers, 
without dreaming of reaching any different or higher 
sphere, where the door of speculation is open only to 
those of large wealth, the direct temptation to pursue 
the gilded phantom of wealth, with absorbing interest, 
is less powerful than here. But here, where the day 
laborer at twenty, is not unfrequently the millionaire 
at sixty; where every porter, and ostler expects to 
become a rich man, the current of worldly-mindedness 
is so powerful, that all are in danger of being carried 
down by it. It is not necessary to the laying up of 
treasure on earth, that we actually acquire wealth, but 
only, that we inordinately love and seek it. Perhaps, 
as many poor men are guilty of laying up treasure on 
earth as rich ones ; so that no condition is free from 
this danger. Nor does it follow, that because we are 
engaged in the outward performances of religion, that 
we are free from an inordinate love of the world ; for, 
we may attend to all the general duties of religion, and 
yet the love of earth may have such fast hold on our 
hearts as to taint, and corrupt all our religious services. 
Of this, we have a striking example, in the case of the 
rich young man who came to Christ, to inquire the way 
of life. He boldly took up his cross, and kneeling to 
his Saviour, inquired the way of salvation. His 
outward obedience was perfect : all the commandments 
had he kept from his youth up. But Christ, seeing in 
his heart a deep seated love of the world, which ren- 
dered all his obedience valueless, brought him to the 
trying issue at once. He had treasure on earth, and 
was now seeking for treasure in heaven, without relin- 
quishing his heart's hold on the earthly : Christ stated 



352 LAYING UP TREASURE ON EARTH. 



the condition in a form to strike at his besetting sin, 
" Sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven" Treasure, in the sense here 
employed, he could not have in both earth and heaven, 
because, that which had his supreme affection was his 
treasure, and that supreme affection he could not give 
to both ; Christ, therefore, gave him choice of the two— 
to have treasure on earth, or treasure in heaven. His 
heart clung to the world, he loved his wealth, and sadly 
relinquishing his claim to a heavenly treasure, which 
could be procured only at the sacrifice of what most 
of all he loved, " He went away very sorrowful, for he 
was very rich." And who, when contemplating in this 
noble young man those amiable, and excellent qualities 
which elicited the declaration, that " Jesus, looking on 
him, loved him," can refrain from a feeling of sorrow 
and pity, that such a man — so near the kingdom- 
should have preferred to lay up treasure on earth, when 
heaven was so freely, so cheaply offered to his accep- 
tance ? And, alas ! how many thousands even of 
professors of religion are in a like condition ! Earthly 
treasure has engrossed their hearts so wholly, that the 
love of God, of his laws, and ordinances is banished. 
What folly, infatuation, and madness are manifest in 
this course. Riches cannot ease our pains, soothe our 
sorrows, quiet our consciences, or protect us against the 
shafts of death ; on the contrary, the tendency of 
wealth, direct or indirect, is rather to augment all those 
evils, than to assuage or remove them ; and love of 
earthly treasure, tends still more directly and certainly 
to those unhappy effects. A more wretched, and 
harrowing spectacle can hardly be imagined, than that 



LAYING UP TREASURE ON EARTH. 353 

presented in the closing scene of one, who having pro- 
fessed fealty and love to the Saviour, has, Judas like, 
sold his Lord for earthly treasure. Perhaps, he has all 
the while deluded himself into the belief, that his 
incessant race after wealth has not been prompted bj 
the love of it, and, that he has been constantly laboring 
to do the will of God, and promote his glory ; perhaps, 
he has strengthened this delusion by an occasional act 
of liberality, to the cause of God or humanity, per- 
suading himself the while, that his hungering avaricious- 
ness is but a desire to acquire the means of aiding the 
holy enterprises of Christianity. When, at last, in the 
light of death-bed revelation, he discovers, that his 
earthly treasure is his only resource, and that this is 
now unavailing ; that he has relinquished his hold on 
heaven, for that which now leaves him in the hour of 
extremity, to the lashings of conscience, and the bitter- 
ness of remorse, how unutterably wretched must be his 
state ; how agonizing his reflections. 

God graciously save us from the sin, and folly, of 
" laying up treasure on earth." 

In the Bishops' notes on this rule, we find the follow- 
ing pointed, and judicious remarks, applying to the 
penitent, and the Christian : " He provides for his 
family with Christian wisdom, and Christian prudence ; 
and all the rest he lays out for the relief of the poor 
and afflicted, and for the advancement of the kingdom 
of God upon earth. He does not wish to have his 
good things in this world, and afterwards to lift up his 
eyes in torments : but his highest ambition is to enjoy the 
sovereign good, the God of his salvation, to the utmost 
capacity of his renewed nature, and to all eternity." 
30 



354 



DISHONESTY IN 



"Borrowing without a probability op paying, 
or taking up goods without a probability op 
paying por them." — The separation of piety from 
morality — the notion that a man may be pious without 
fully respecting the laws of morality, is most mischiev- 
ous and unscriptural ; and though Protestant Christians 
do not, to any extent, recognize the doctrine as sound, 
yet too many of them act as if they fully believed it. 
One of the evil effects of this is, that as the world 
judge of our piety by our moral behavior, and not our 
professions, or our devotional observances, unless our 
conduct conform to the laws of a strict morality, the 
conclusion is reached, that either religion is a delusion, 
or that we are hypocritical or deluded, and inconsistent 
professors of it. Those moral laws, therefore, which 
have respect to the rights and interests of our fellow 
men, should be attended to with scrupulous exactness. 

There may be cases in which it is proper and 
necessary to borrow money, or to take up goods " on 
credit," but necessity alone should induce men to do 
this ; and then it should be done only with a fair, and 
reasonable probability of being able to meet the obliga- 
tion promptly at maturity. The habit of borrowing 
money, or taking up goods, when there exists no real 
necessity for it, and with a vague expectation of being 
able to meet the debt when due, is utterly wrong, and 
productive of serious evils ; among which are the weaken- 
ing of confidence in the integrity of the debtor, loss and 
embarrassment to him in making payment when com- 
pelled, and injury, and disappointment to the creditor. 

A rule which has raised many poor men to compe- 
tence, and some to wealth, is, to do without what it 



BORROWING AND BUYING. 



355 



would be convenient, or desirable to have, until they 
were able to pay for it. Some fortunes have been made 
by going in debt unnecessarily, but very many have 
been lost by the same course. There is a feeling of 
satisfaction, and independence, in being free from debt, 
well worth procuring at the cost of doing without the 
luxuries, and even some of the comforts of life. 

The comment of the Bishops on this rule, is worthy 
of being carefully considered, and we here quote it 
entire. Speaking of the man who is truly desirous to 
be saved from his sins, they say : 44 He is strictly honest. 
He abhors the iniquitous attempt of getting money at 
his neighbor's risk. But, alas, this is too common a 
practice, even among many who call themselves pro- 
fessors. A man is poor, and wishes to be rich ; or he 
is rich, and wishes to be richer ; he accordingly takes 
up a great quantity of goods, to form a large but false 
capital ; or he borrows money of his friends for the same 
purpose : if he succeed, he has his ambition gratified, 
and becomes a man of fortune ; if he fail, he is only 
where he was before, or at least, suffers but little ; whilst 
those who have in confidence sold him goods, or 
advanced to him money, are the only, or chief sufferers. 
He is, what he would call tolerably safe at all events. 
This is, an unjust and iniquitous practice : and the more 
so, because the whole is carried on, under the mask of 
honor and honesty ; of friendship, or integrity. Such 
persons should have no admission among us ; or, if they 
have, should, when discovered, be expelled, as some of 
the greatest enemies of civil society; whose practice 
has immediate tendency to break all the bonds of social 
union, and to destroy all confidence among men," 



856 



BORROWING AND BUYING. 



But, there is another impropriety of the same class, 
sufficiently common and injurious to claim a brief notice : 
it is the want of punctuality in the fulfilment of engage- 
ments generally, where promise, and not debt constitutes 
the bond of obligation. This is an evil, against which 
it is especially necessary for tradesmen, and mechanics 
to be well guarded. A mechanic is applied to, to do a 
job of work, or to furnish an article in his line for a 
customer. His previous engagements, will not permit 
him to do the work wanted by the time suggested ; but, 
rather than lose the job, he directly promises, or, at 
least, authorizes the customer to expect that it will be 
executed in due time. When the time arrives the work 
is not done, the customer is disappointed, perhaps 
injured seriously, and loses confidence in the punctuality 
and veracity of the workman. 

Christians should be very careful to avoid all these 
improprieties ; they have the effect to bring dishonor on 
the cause of religion, and work injury, and not good, to 
those who fall into such errors. The avoidance of these 
occasions of offence, would do much to elevate the 
character of Christianity and its professors in the eyes 
of the world. 

Our ministers would do a good service to the Church, 
and the world, by strictly attending to the enforcements 
of our rules on these subjects. 



CHAPTER XXIX, 
DOING GOOD. 



This the second general evidence of a desire to flee the wrath to 
come — Bishops' note — The manner — to their bodies — by feeding- 
clothing — visiting — helping — Hospitality. 

Having considered the evidences of a sincere desire 
for salvation, which those who remain in our com- 
munion are required to present in their abstinence from 
that which is sinful and improper; we now come to 
consider a second class of duty, affording additional 
evidence of true penitence and holy desire. This class 
is of a more direct and positive character than the 
former, comprehending the department of active, 
practical obedience. The following passage from the 
rules, introduces this class of duty : 

" It is expected of all who continue in these societies, 
that they should continue to evidence their desire of 
salvation, 

Secondly, by doing good, by being in every hind 
merciful after their poiver, as they have opportunity, 
doing good of every possible sort, and as far as is 
possible to all men" 

On this passage, Bishops Coke and Asbury remark : — 
"True conviction of .sin, and an earnest longing for 
salvation, will be accompanied with every outward fruit 
of righteousness. The love of God may not yet have 



358 



DOING GOOD. 



become the governing principle of the whole soul, so as 
to make obedience flow, as from a second nature ; but 
yet the contrite soul will have a constant fear of 
offending God, and this will be accompanied with a 
constant desire of pleasing him." This passage, 
incidentally, yet clearly, recognizes the condition of 
membership — true penitence — for which we have 
contended in these comments. 

But the manner in which the doing of good is enjoined, 
is more specifically set forth in the following rules : 

" TO THEIR BODIES, OF THE ABILITY WHICH GOD 
GIVETH, BY GIVING FOOD TO THE HUNGRY, BY CLOTHING 
THE NAKED, BY VISITING, OR HELPING THEM, THAT ARE 
SICK, OR IN PRISON." 

The true penitent, and, more still, the assured 
Christian, will feel a deep and genuine sympathy for 
the sufferings of others, and this sympathy powerfully 
prompts to acts of relief and benevolence. Others 
may relieve the necessities from motives of policy, of 
interest, of popularity ; but the Christian, and the 
sincere seeker of salvation, perform these acts from a 
principle of Christian sympathy. " This principle will 
make us feel for the infirmities of others, and sympa- 
thize with them. We shall delight to afford to the 
hungry and naked, the stranger, the sick and im- 
prisoned, the necessaries, or comforts, they stand in 
need of. And, in all this, we shall consider the poor as 
the representatives of Jesus Christ, and that in doing it 
to them we do it to Him." — Bishops' Notes. 

Christianity respects the bodily comforts of men, as 
well as their spiritual enjoyments ; and our professing 



DOING GOOD. 



359 



religious comforts, our acts of piety towards God, and 
our professions of concern for the spiritual welfare of 
our fellow men, however diligently, or devoutly exhibited, 
will leave our Christian character so vitally defective, 
that, at the last day, we cannot hope for the 
approbation of our eternal Judge, without the perform- 
ance of works of mercy ; unless, indeed, we have not 
had the means, or opportunity, after our religious 
profession, of performing such acts. The goods of this 
world are variously distributed among men, some having 
much, some little, and some being entirely destitute ; 
yet this inequality of distribution does not indicate that 
God designed some to revel in luxury, while others, 
equally industrious, and, perhaps, more virtuous, are 
left to suffer for . the common necessaries of life ; but 
rather indicates that the abundance of the rich is 
entrusted to them in the character of stewards of their 
Lord's goods, to be suitably distributed among the 
necessitous. 

* Hence it is a solemn duty of Christians, and 
seekers of salvation, according to their ability, to 
" feed the hungry, and clothe the naked." This is a 
merciful appointment of the universal Father ; for, 
while it comforts and blesses the poor, who are the 
objects of such benevolent action, it affords an oppor- 
tunity to the rich to realize a higher, purer happiness, 
in relieving suffering, than they could possibly derive 
from the squandering of their wealth in sensual indul- 
gencies, in vain displays, or a miserly hoarding of it up, 
to become a curse to ungrateful and prodigal heirs. It 
is a high privilege, enjoyed by the rich, that they have 
the ability to become benefactors of the poor, fathers 



360 



DOING GOOD. 



to the orphan, helpers of the widow, and efficient pro- 
moters of evangelizing enterprises. To desire, submis- 
sively, the acquisition of property, for the good it will 
enable us to perform, is entirely laudable ; but to desire, 
and love wealth, for the pleasure of possessing it, or of 
appropriating it to purposes of display, or sensual gratifi 
cation, is criminal in a high degree. And he who, 
from such motives, withholds assistance from the needy, 
must expect to hear, from the final Judge, the terrible 
denunciation, " Depart from me ; for I was hungry, and 
you fed me not; naked, and you clothed me not." Yet 
how many are there who profess Christ's religion, and 
habitually withhold needed aid from his suffering poor, 
his ministers, and his cause ! We have known men, 
who professed to be followers of Christ, possessing an 
annual income of hundreds, or even thousands, above 
the moderate demands of their families, who yet did 
not give to the suffering poor around them, their own 
destitute ministers, the cause of missions, and all other 
benevolent works, as much in a year as the profits of 
their business for one week — perhaps not one day. If 
such men can possess, and enjoy religion, it must be a 
religion which Christ has no where recognized. 

But there is another large class of delinquents, who 
are ever proclaiming their charitable disposition, and 
regretting their want of means to carry out their 
benevolent wishes, who yet entirely fail to do what is 
fairly in their power. There are other modes of charity 
besides giving of our substance to feed and clothe the 
poor, modes by which the poor themselves have the 
privilege of exercising benevolence effectively, in 
" visiting them that are sick, or in prison." 



DOING GOOD. 361 

" Man shall not live by bread alone." In conditions 
of destitution, or distress, the mere supplying of one's 
physical wants does not meet either the requirements of 
the gospel, or the demands of the afflicted. Suffering 
calls for sympathy not less than for supplies ; and it has 
often happened, that the afflicted have felt a sweeter 
solace in the warm sympathy of the poor, than in the 
contributions of the rich, unaccompanied by that kindly 
feeling which is ever grateful to the heart. To visit 
the sick, and the prisoner, is a duty enjoined on all, the 
performance of which has the promise of approbation 
at the last day ; and they who give food and clothing to 
the poor, and fail to visit the hovels of suffering and 
sorrow, render it impossible for Christ to say to them, 
at the day of final audit, "I was sick, and ye visited 
me; in prison, and ye came unto me." But the man 
whose resources are too limited to enable him to con- 
tribute of his substance, yet who visits the afflicted, 
serves and comforts them according to his ability — who 
represents their wants, and pleads their cause with the 
rich, is a real benefactor, and will be approved as the 
friend of the Saviour. In truth, the active movers of 
the springs of benevolence, are very generally those 
who are not rich, except in faith and good works, but 
who seek out objects of charity, and then, with the 
eloquence of a deep and lively sympathy, appeal to the 
rich for the means of relief. We have often seen a 
single female, in limited circumstances, start into lively 
flow a stream of diffusive benevolence, more wide in its 
range, and fruitful in its overflow, than any thing set on 
foot, or pushed to consummation, by the man of millions. 
No discharge of duty is productive of a more pure ? and 
31 



362 



DOING GOOD. 



delightful pleasure, than visiting of the sick and 
afflicted ; and jet, Christ has many ministers, who are 
much more desirous to imitate their Master in preach- 
ing to the multitudes, than in visiting, and ministering 
to the sick and poor. 

And, perhaps, the neglect of prisoners is a still more 
general failing of Christians, than the neglect of the 
sick and the poor. In all our large towns, and cities, 
there are persons immured in the prisons, who generally 
receive very little attention from Christians, and 
Christian ministers. True, they may have sinned 
grievously against society, and against God ; yet, shut 
out from society, in their cheerless imprisonment, the 
mind necessarily turns upon itself, and serious reflec- 
tions are entertained by those who have been most 
thoughtless. In this state of things the unfortunate 
prisoner is often prepared, not only to appreciate kind 
attentions, but no less to receive lasting impressions of 
good, which, if properly followed up, might produce 
permanent reformation. Such fields of labor, however, 
do not seem to accord with our estimate of our own 
powers, which we seem to regard as demanding a more 
important and honorable sphere of operation. Many 
ministers, sufficiently ambitious to emulate Bossuet, 
Tillotson, or Whitefield, in sacred eloquence, manifest 
little disposition to emulate the Christ-like humanity of 
Howard, in visiting the gloomy cell of the prisoner ; yet 
some of the representatives of the Saviour dwell in 
prisons, and the neglect of them is charged as a neglect 
of Christ. 

Another act of goodness, positively required, but too 
much neglected by Christians, is attention to strangers. 



DOING GOOD. 



363 



"I was a stranger, and ye took me in," is one of the 
beatitudes to be bestowed by the Judge, on the truly 
righteous, at the last day. 6 4 Be not forgetful to enter- 
tain strangers," is a command by the Apostle ; (Heb. 
ii. 13,) and its observance is encouraged by the fact, 
that Abraham and Lot " entertained angels unawares." 
It is true, the general want of public places of enter- 
tainment, gave the command a peculiar application and 
force, at the time it was written : yet the same thing, 
in other forms, is equally obligatory on us, and on all. 

The entire travelling community, to be sure, do not 
now have to rely upon private hospitality, as in ancient 
times, yet it very often happens that the traveller, 
benighted, bewildered, or in thinly settled regions, has 
to apply for entertainment at private habitations ; and 
it has sometimes happened that he has been refused 
protection from the storm, when exposed, and food 
when hungry, because it was not perfectly convenient 
for the family, so called on, to afford the needed accom- 
modation. When persons, who have refused hospitality 
to the stranger, on the grounds of mere selfishness, 
shall appear before the Judge of all, and hear him say, 
"I was a stranger, and you took me not in," what a 
pitiful defence will it be to respond to the condemnatory 
accusation, " Lord, it was not perfectly convenient, 
and would have put me to some trouble to entertain 
thee in the person of the weary sojourner." 

Again : when strangers come into a community to 
sojourn or reside, the sense of loneliness attendant on 
that state may be greatly relieved, by kind attentions 
on the part of the residents of the place. Especially, 
is this the duty of Christians, who should be very 



364 



DOING GOOD. 



attentive to fellow Christians when coming among them, 
to sojourn or reside. The stranger should meet a kind 
greeting, and cordial welcome, among his strange 
brethren. The neglect of such attention, has often had 
a most unhappy influence on the feelings of the stranger, 
and not unfrequently, on his religious enjoyment. It is 
an excellent plan, when Church members come into a 
new place to reside, on the occasion of presenting their 
Church letters, for the pastor to introduce them to the 
notice of the membership, announce their places of 
abode, and remind the Church of the duty of making 
their acquaintance, and of bestowing on them the 
attention due to strangers and brethren. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



DOING GOOD. — TO THE SOULS OF MEN- 
FRUGALITY, &c. 



Doing good to the souls of men — by instructing — reproving — exhort- 
ing — Special duty to Christians and true penitents — Bishops' note 
Dilligence — duty of — of little value without Frugality — Running 
the Christian race patiently — self-denyingly — cross-bearingly — 
submitting to and looking for persecution. 

By doing good — " To their souls, by instructing, 
reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse 
ivith ; trampling under foot that enthusiastic doctrine, 
that 6 we are not to do good, unless our hearts be 

FREE TO IT.'" 

The first duty here inculcated is, to instruct the 
ignorant. The understanding must be enlightened, in 
order to the religious improvement of men ; for, the 
conscience, in its operations, follows the current of light 
in the understanding. He whose understanding is dark, 
with regard to his relation to God, and the plan of 
salvation, will have an erring conscience. The con- 
science reproves us, only for doing that which our 
understanding regards as wrong, or neglecting what our 
judgment approves as right. The conscience of the 
Hindoo, requires of him services and sacrifices in direct 
violation of the law of God ; and the only way of 



366 



DOING GOOD. 



rectifying his conscience, is, by enlightening the mind. 
This view is in accordance with that given by Isaiah 
the Prophet : "I have nourished and brought up 
children, and they have rebelled against me." But 
why did they rebel ? Because, " Israel doth not Jcnoiv, 
my people do not consider." Ignorance is given as the 
cause of rebellion against God. Ignorance is the 
fruitful source of crime, and is often the mother of 
superstition ; but it never was, and never can be, " the 
mother of rational devotion," as has been alleged, by 
those interested in keeping the multitude in ignorance, 
that they might have control of the popular conscience. 
Christianity, at the beginning, pushed its conquests by 
rending away the veil of ignorance from the minds of 
bigotted Jews, and deluded Gentiles. The reformation 
under Luther, commenced by removing the rubbish of 
ignorance, beneath which popery had buried truths 
of Christianity ; and light in the understanding is the 
foundation of all genuine reformation. " The passions 
may be excited, the fears may be aroused, and these 
may receive a religious direction ; but, if the mind be 
not enlightened with regard to the nature of duty, 
and the plan of salvation, no permanent good can be 
expected to result. 

The first duty, therefore, to the souls of men, is to 
impart instruction. This duty rests with peculiar force 
on ministers of the grace of God. Eloquent, and 
pretty declamation, which has become so very popular 
in the sermons of the day, may serve to please and 
amuse ; but correct knowledge of the plan of salvation, 
is not likely to be gathered from gaudy tropes, nor the 
impenitent heart to be convicted of sin, by the theatrical 



DOING GOOD. 



887 



delivery of artificially rounded periods. The duty 
of instruction is not, however, restricted to the pulpit ; 
it is the duty of every Christian, and every seeker of 
salvation, to impart knowledge, and, especially, religious 
knowledge, to the extent of their ability and oppor- 
tunity. One of the excellent modes of religious in- 
struction, which has become common and highly 
profitable, is that of Sabbath schools. Here is opened 
a delightful field of usefulness, for all who are willing 
to enter upon, and cultivate it; and the friends of 
religious instruction should never be satisfied, until, in 
every neighborhood in the land, a good and permanent 
Sabbath school is established. 

Instruction in families, of children and servants, is a 
duty resting on the heads of families as a sacred and 
indispensable obligation. This should be the nursery 
of knowledge. This teaching goes in advance of that 
of the Sabbath school, as that goes before, and prepares 
the way for the teachings of the sanctuary. But, in 
one and the other, and all, the Bible is to be looked to 
as the great source of religious knowledge, the text 
book of all our instructions. 

Instruction being laid as the foundation, another duty 
is to reprove. Reproof will have little effect, unless 
the enlightenment of the mind give it force. But, that 
reproof may be successful, it is necessary, that it be 
judiciously and prudently administered. Some Chris- 
tians neglect this duty of reproving sin on their neigh- 
bors almost entirely ; while others do it in a manner so 
harsh and unkind as to irritate, rather than reform. If 
we would reprove with good effect, we must convince 
the subjects of our reproof that we are actuated by 



368 



DOING GOOD. 



feelings of kindness, and motives of friendship. Where 
this is prudently done, reproof is seldom offensive, and 
very often effectual. It is seldom advisable to give 
reproof publicly : it tends to mortify, and offended 
pride resents the reproof as an unkind exposure of one's 
errors before others. The same reproof, given in 
private, would probably be kindly received, and perhaps 
effectual. A recent incident, exemplified the truth 
of what we have just said. A minister was travelling 
in the mail coach, in which was a gentleman who 
indulged in much profane language. The minis ter, 
instead of harshly reproving him, sought to cultivate his 
friendship, and secure his confidence. "When he had 
reason to believe, that he had, in a good degree, suc- 
ceeded in this object, he took occasion, at an exchange 
stand, to invite him to take a walk with him, and, when 
alone, tenderly and affectionately reproved his evil 
habit. The gentleman appeared truly to regret his 
course, asked pardon, and promised not again to be 
guilty of the like offence ; and, to the end of the jour- 
ney, no more profane language was heard from him. 
Even in reproving children and servants, parents and 
masters often defeat then own objects by adminis- 
tering reproof in a tone and manner calculated to 
mortify and vex, rather than reform. With them, 
reproof has no other meaning than harsh censure, and 
then words harden when they should reclaim. 

Another duty is to exhort those with whom we have 
intercourse, to the performance of duty, and the 
avoidance of evil and error. "Where the understanding 
is properly instructed, affectionate exhortation — en- 
treaty — persuasion, is a powerful instrument in waking 



DOING GOOD. 



389 



up serious reflection, and in bringing the heart to 
penitence. And this is a mode of preaching, in which 
all may bear a part — the minister, the exhorter, 
the leader, the Sabbath school teacher, the private 
member, the father, the mother, the master, the friend, 
all may labor successfully, in their respective spheres, 
in this good work. Aye, even the unassured penitent 
may labor here, and should labor for the good of 
others. 

The remarks in the Bishops' notes, on this last 
point, are worthy of attention. They say : "It is 
a perfect mistake to suppose, that a real penitent 
cannot, or is not called on, to do good to the souls of 
others. Many, in their awakened state, have done 
considerable good in this respect. But when the love 
of God is become the reigning principle of the soul, we 
hunger and thirst for the salvation of others. Our cry 
is, ' Come and hear, all ye that fear the Lord, and 
I will declare what he hath done for my soul." ' 

And these duties are to be performed consistently, 
faithfully, and from settled principle, and not from 
feeling. We are to " trample under foot that enthusi- 
astic doctrine, that we are not to do good unless our 
hearts be free to it." The feelings and inclinations 
of the heart can never be relied on, as guides in the 
matter of duty. Let us lay it down as a rule of 
conduct, that we will pray, read God's word, attend his 
worship, instruct, reprove, exhort, relieve the poor, and 
visit the sick, only when our hearts incline us to those 
duties ; and, very soon, our hearts will fail ever to 
prompt us thereto, at all. The power of godliness will 
soon be lost, the form will follow, and soon our 



370 



DOING GOOD 



religious professions will be at end. Settled religious 
principle should govern all our conduct, whether our 
hearts incline to duty or not. The influence of princi- 
ple, will form a religious habit, and principle and habit 
conjoined, will powerfully control the feelings and 
inclinations of the heart. Such, indeed, is the order of 
grace, that, in proportion as we submit ourselves to the 
government of principle, and habits of Christian duty, 
based on principle, in like proportion will our hearts be 
" free " to the performance of duty. He who thus is 
" instant in season, and out of season," in the discharge 
of duty, will seldom have much occasion to complain 
about feelings and inclinations. And, indeed, be these 
as they may, he is not shaken or turned aside from duty 
by them. God has commanded him to a certain course 
of obedience, and his command is followed, regardless 
of frames and feelings* 

" By doing good to them that are of the household 
of faith, or groaning so to be; employing them 
preferably to others, buying one of another, helping 
each other in business ; mid so much the more, because 
the world will love its own, and them only.'''' 

" Though he does good to all, according to his ability, 
yet he particularly feels for the members of Christ's 
mystical body. They are to him as his own soul. 
With them he experiences an union which the world is 
unacquainted with. They are like the members of his 
own family ; they are bone of his bone, and flesh of his 
flesh." (Bishops' 1 Notes.) " Let us do good unto all 
men, especially to them who are of the household of 
faith." Gal. vi. 10. 



DOING GOOD. 



371 



The force of the general obligation " to do good to 
all men," is by no means weakened by the special 
duty we owe to those who are of the household of faith. 
Some ill-disposed persons have attempted to reproach 
our Church, on account of this rule, seeming to forget 
that it is in the spirit, and nearly in the very language 
of the apostolic injunction, quoted above ; but the 
juster ground of reproach is found in our too general 
neglect of its practical observance. Professed Chris- 
tians have made themselves appear inconsistent — not to 
say contemptible — in the eyes of the world, by bestowing 
patronage and favors lavishly on wealthy sinners — 
for advantage — while their own brethren, deserving 
and needy, are entirely neglected. This will never 
be the case when the true spirit of Christianity reigns 
in the heart. If we love the Saviour aright, we will 
love with a special affection his children, and those 
seeking earnestly to be such; and this love will 
manifest itself, by such indications as show the affection 
of members of the same family for each other. Other 
circumstances being equal, Christian relationship should 
govern our preferences in relations of business. 

" By all jjossible diligence and frugality, that the 
gospel be not blamed." 

The comment of the Bishops on this rule is excellent. 
"We quote it at large: "It is frequently one of the 
devices of Satan, to tempt the children of God to be 
negligent in their business, under the pretext that they 
will be able to live more in heaven by having nothing 
to do with earthly things. But the believer, when 
called to labor in a profession, or trade, for the support 



372 



DOING GOOD. 



of his family, or to fill up some useful station in society, 
may so intermix pious ejaculations with his studies, or 
labors, and improve so many short intervals in private 
prayer, as not only to preserve his grace, but to increase 
daily in the divine life. Ejaculations are swift messen- 
gers, which soon enter heaven, and soon bring down a 
gracious answer." 

The Christian is commanded to be u Not slothful in 
business;" and, at the same time, "fervent in spirit, 
serving the Lord." Rom. xii. 11. So, again, " Provide 
things honest in the sight of all men," ver. 17. 

There are no lazy Christians. Christianity is an 
active, operative principle, and, wherever it reigns in 
the soul, it sets its subject to work actively, diligently, 
industriously. And this principle operates as actively 
with regard to our temporal business, as our religious 
duties. The Christian is industrious, that he may com- 
fortably and honestly support his family, that he may 
have to give to the poor, and the cause of God, and 
benevolence, and that censure may not be brought on 
the cause of Christ. To idle time, is to waste one of 
the most precious and valuable gifts of God, and cannot 
be done innocently. Were all professed Christians as 
observant of this rule as the gospel requires, many who 
are now in straightened circumstances, would not only 
be well supplied with the comforts of life, but would 
have to give to the needy. 

Not only does this rule enjoin diligence, but also 
frugality. Without frugality, industry is of little 
avail. By frugality, is meant that prudent economy in 
the appropriation and use of money, time, and all other 
resources and means of usefulness and comfort, by 



DOING GOOD. 



373 



which nothing is wasted, or uselessly applied. Perhaps 
more is lost by want of frugality than want of industry. 
Some persons, after using commendable diligence in 
earning, or producing the means of temporal comfort, 
allow nearly all to be consumed in extravagance, lost 
by waste, or suffered to go to ruin by negligence. 
Principle and system, in all our transactions, are 
necessary to a proper frugality ; without these, economy 
and extravagance, frugality and waste, will, alternately, 
have ascendency in our affairs. In many Christian 
families, there is waste enough, through want of 
Christian frugality, to supply food and raiment to as 
many more persons as are supplied. In this land of 
abundance, the very bounty of Providence seems to 
foster in the habits of the people a wastefulness, and 
want of frugality, entirely at war with the principles 
of Christianity. 

It becomes, therefore, all Christians, and seekers of 
religion, to evidence the sincerity of their desire for 
salvation, "By all diligence and frugality, that the 
gospel be not blamed." 

" By running with patience the race that is set 
before them, denying themselves, and taking up their 
cross daily ; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ ; 
to be as the filth and offscouring of the world, and 
looking that men should say all manner of evil of them, 
falsely, for the Lord's sake." 

A great excellency of Christians, is to run the rough, 
long, and toilsome race set before them, with patience. 
It is to them who " patiently continue in well doing," 
that the promise of eternal life is given. And the 



374 



DOING GOOD. 



promise to those who wait on the Lord, is, that they 
shall run, and not be weary, and walk, and not faint. 
Many persons make a fair start, and rim well for a 
season, but they become weary ; and, because they lack 
patient perseverance, turn back again to the beggarly 
elements of the world. 

Of self-denial, and daily cross-bearing, we have 
treated with considerable fullness in another place ; 
therefore, it is not necessary to add any thing further 
on those points of duty here. But nearly related to 
these are the passive duties here inculcated, of submis- 
sion to " bear the reproach of Christ," to be looked on 
as " the filth and offscouring of the world," and to have 
" all manner of evil said of us falsely, for the Lord's 
sake." This is a form of cross-bearing, and if not an 
active taking up of the cross, it is yet a passive bearing 
of it : and it has been justly remarked, that it is more 
difficult to attain excellence in the passive duties, which 
call for submission, endurance, and resignation, than 
those which call only for active obedience. Peter, in 
the performance of active service, in the cause of his 
Master, was ready to fight and to die for him ; but 
being restrained in his valorous purpose of contending, 
single handed, against the whole host that came to 
arrest his Lord, he, who was ready to fight to the 
death for Chris o, had not the courage to bear up against 
the reproaches of Christ ; and the sneer of a servant 
maid intimidated him more, by far, than all the swords 
and staves of the High Priest's minions. So there are 
many professors of religion, who are willing to do in the 
great active, public duties of religion, who yet cannot 
bear, or suffer the reproaches of Christ. They will 



DOING GOOD. 375 

labor, or give, in the cause of religion, but when their 
profession subjects them to reproach, or persecution, 
they are at once vanquished. 

But if we expect to be true Christians, we must 
resolve to pursue such a course of active and passive 
obedience to the will of God, as will inevitably subject 
us to reproach and persecution. Just so certainly as 
we are unflinchingly firm, and faithful, in our Christian 
conduct — bear a steadfast testimony against popular 
vice, and, self-denyingly, follow the Lord — so sure will 
evil be said of us, falsely, by some one. Mr. Wesley, 
himself, was under the habitual government of this rule 
in a high degree, and recommended it as well by 
example as by precept. On one occasion he remarked, 
that he believed every form of false accusation had 
been brought against him, except that of drunkenness ; 
to which a gentleman present replied, that he had heard 
a person say, that he saw Mr. Wesley so drunk that 
he could not walk straight. " Then, thank God," 
responded Mr. Wesley, " I can now say that I hava 
had all manner of evil said of me, falsely, for the 
Lord's sake." 

The carnal mind is enmity against God ; and though 
it may be reconciled to a fashionable religion, or a com- 
promising Christianity, it will ever, while unrenewed, 
be, in feeling, the enemy of the truly pious. All, 
therefore, who will live godly in Christ, must suffer 
persecution. And it is the true spirit of Christianity 
to rejoice in it, remembering, that " so persecuted they 
the prophets which were before them." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



Public worship — reading and preaching God's word — Lord's Supper 
— Nature and uses of this Sacrament explained in six particulars 
— Qualifications for partaking of — Difficulties with brethren — 
Right of penitents — Spirit in which it should be partaken. 

" It is expected of all who desire to continue in these 
societies, that they should continue to evidence their 
desire of salvation, 

" Thirdly : By attending upon all the ordinances of 
Gfod; such are, 

" The public worship of God: The ministry of the 
word, either read or -expounded." 

The public worship of God, as distinguished from 
private, and domestic, or family worship, appears to 
have been formally instituted during the journeying 
of the emancipated Israelites from Egypt, through the 
Arabian wilderness, to the land of Promise. Then 
were appointed forms of public devotion calculated to 
impress, and improve the moral feelings ; modes of 
religious instruction ; an order of men, specially conse- 
crated to the service of this religious organization — 
which was thenceforward called the Church — a fixed 
place of worship, dedicated exclusively to sacred uses. 
This place, at which the people first assembled in mass, 



PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



377 



to offer up their united devotions, was called the Taber- 
nacle. It was succeeded, afterwards, by the Temple 
and Synagogues ; and, under the gospel dispensation, by 
what have come to be generally called Churches. 

The forms of worship then instituted were most 
solemn and impressive, and exerted a powerful influence 
on the religious feelings and habits of the people. 
Indeed, so marked was the influence of these services, 
on the personal and national character of the Jews, 
that all their national defections were preceded and 
accompanied by a neglect of their public worship. And, 
at the present day, the tone of public morality is found, 
in all nations, to be quite truthfully indicated by the 
purity of public worship, and the attention, and respect 
paid to it by the people. Not only by Jews and 
Christians, but even by Pagans, who have risen above 
the lower conditions of barbarism, public worship is 
respected as essential to a healthy state of morals, and 
to tho culture of a spirit of piety. 

The grand instrumentality by which public worship 
is rendered useful, in instructing and in waking up 
religious consideration, is preaching, or the reading, 
expounding, and enforcing the truths and duties of 
religion, as found in the word of God. This particular 
form of religious instruction and improvement, appears 
to have originated in the circumstances by which the 
Jews were surrounded, after their return from Baby- 
lonish captivity. Those who were born in Babylon, during 
their captivity, on the return of the nation, were very 
imperfectly acquainted with their mother Hebrew 
tongue ; hence, the Priests read to them from the Book of 
the Law, and gave the sense distinctly, which is the 



878 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



same that we now call preaching. The word of God 
is the foundation of all proper pulpit instruction, and 
exhortation. The public reading of that word in the 
congregation, was an important part of the service of 
the Synagogue. Accordingly, we find Christ, when 
officiating in the Synagogue, first reading a portion of 
Scripture from the Old Testament, and then explaining 
its import to the congregation. The Apostles, in their 
preaching, usually either read, or quoted largely from 
the sacred Scriptures. And in several of the Churches 
— and so of our own — the ordination vows, bind the 
minister to instruct the people out of the word of God ; 
and in the form of ordination itself, the authority is 
specifically given, and the duty enjoined, of reading 
the holy Scriptures in the congregation, and of preach- 
ing the same. True gospel preaching, therefore, consists 
in reading, expounding, and enforcing the word of God. 
The nearer the preacher keeps to this fountain of truth, 
the more strictly his spirit, his language, his doctrine, 
accord with its teachings and models, the more likely 
will he be to succeed in his holy vocation. 

When we have opportunity to hear the word of God 
preached, it is our duty to do so, even though the 
talents, or manner of the preacher, should not exactly 
suit our taste ; for, if we hear with a due mixture 
of faith, we can hardly fail to be profitted by the 
preaching of any minister of Christ. But when we 
have not opportunity of hearing the word preached, 
still, where there are several Christians resident con- 
veniently near to each other, they should have public 
worship, at least on the Sabbath. Some one can read 
the word of God to the congregation, and, in many 



PUBLIC WORSHIP, 319 

cases, there are those present who can exhort the 
people, and so enforce the holy truths read. At 
least, public prayer can be offered, in addition to 
reading the word, and singing the praise of God ; for 
every true Christian is a praying man, and a large 
proportion of those who are familiar with closet com- 
munion with God, as they should be, can, if necessary, 
lead the public devotions of the congregation. Indeed, 
a very profitable form of public worship, is that in 
which Christians meet for the purpose of offering public 
prayer to God. The disciples of Christ, while waiting 
for the descent of the Holy Ghost, were engaged in 
the exercises of a devout prayer meeting. So when 
Peter was cast into prison, for the testimony of Jesus, 
the devout disciples appear to have assembled, to hold 
a solemn prayer meeting, that Divine help might be 
sent in their trying circumstances. Indeed, prayer is 
the mighty resource of the Christian, because prayer 
is a casting of ourselves upon the Divine resources 
of our Father in heaven, and public prayer is quite 
as necessary as any other part or form of public 
worship. 

Man is endowed with social qualities, and his feelings, 
his hopes, and enjoyments, are greatly influenced by 
association. A large proportion of the vice extant in 
individual character, has been superinduced by corrupt- 
ing associations ; and the same principle which generates 
vicious habits, when rightly directed, promotes the de- 
velopment of virtuous affections. Hence, public wor- 
ship is calculated to exert a beneficial influence on all 
who participate in its exercises ; and it is the duty, 
especially, of all Christians, to encourage and attend 



880 



ORDINANCES OE RELIGION. 



upon it, and to induce all others over whom they may 
have influence to do so likewise. 

The influence of public meetings, and their power 
on the popular mind, is well understood by politicians^ 
and by them turned to good account as respects their 
objects. The same is true, with respect to all 
movements of public concernment ; and Christians can- 
not forsake the assembling of themselves togethei 
without danger, and hardly without detriment to their 
individual and associate prosperity and enjoyment. 
Christ not only enjoined this duty, by example and 
precept, but strongly encourages it, by vouchsafing a 
blessing to the smallest number that can constitute 
a religious association. "Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in their 
midst." The wilful neglect of public worship is utterly 
incompatible with religious prosperity, and even with 
true Christian character. 

" The Supper of the Lord." — This sacred institu- 
tion has its antetype in the Jewish Passover, in which 
the protection of the Israelites against the destroying 
angel was commemorated with appropriate solemnities. 
The paschal lamb, the blood of which was the medium 
of deliverance, or protection, was a lively type of the 
slaughtered Lamb of God, given for the sin of the 
world. When Christ celebrated the Passover with his 
disciples, just before his crucifixion, he instituted the 
Christian Passover, commemorative of the offering up 
of himself as a sin-offering, and of the deliverance 
wrought out for us by his death and mediation. 

As the command to the Israelites was positive to 
observe the Passover, so the command to Christians is 



lohd's supper. 



381 



positive to observe the Sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper. " Do this in remembrance of me," is a com- 
mand as explicit, and imperative, as the command, 
" Repent and be converted." And jet, many pro- 
fessed Christians feel perfectly at liberty to neglect 
this solemn duty. 

As to the nature, and uses of this Sacrament, we 
may, without entering into a formal defence of it, 
offer a few general remarks. 

1. Having been in use, in the Christian Church, in 
all periods of its recorded history, we must trace back 
its origin to the source assigned it by the New Tes- 
tament writers — the institution of Christ. It is not 
pretended, that it was introduced at any specified period 
of later date ; consequently, was ordained of Christ 
himself, and so becomes a standing corroborative 
evidence of the truth of Christianity. 

2. It is a perpetual memorial of the great sacrifice 
through which Christians look for salvation. Great 
events, and great benefactions conferred on mankind, 
have ever been commemorated by appropriate cere- 
monies, or solemnities, as being a tribute due to those 
who have made themselves public benefactors. And, 
if to observe the nativity of Washington, or the birth- 
day of American liberty, be promotive of the spirit of 
patriotism ; to commemorate, in a proper manner, the 
achievements of the Captain of our salvation, and a 
world's emancipation from the thraldom of sin, must be 
profitable in promoting a spirit of devout piety. 

3. It is an expression of gratitude, of thankfulness to 
our Lord Christ, for his unspeakable gift; and, as 
expressive of this, it has, from early periods of the 



382 



OHDIXAXCES UP RELIGION . 



Church, been called the eucJiarist. The right parta- 
king of this sacrament, is eminently calculated to 
quicken sentiments of gratitude to God. 

4. It is an expression of our reliance on the 
atonement of Christ, represented by it, and our 
willingness to receive that atonement, in the manner 
prescribed by the word of God. Whoever, therefore, 
receives it intelligibly, and truly, says, by the act, " I 
take Christ for my portion, and depend, alone, on his 
merits for salvation." 

5. It is a solemn profession of our faith in, and 
allegiance to Christ ; and, in receiving it, we declare 
our belief in Him, as the Saviour, and our determi- 
nation to obey his requirements ; hence, it is called 
a Sacrament, as being a pledge of allegiance and 
fidelity, partaking of the nature and solemnity of an 
oath. 

6. It is an expression of Christian fellowship for the 
followers of Christ. 

If the partaking of food together, be expressive 
of friendship, much more so the breaking of that bread 
which symbolizes the broken body of the Son of God. 

The qualifications necessary to a right partaking of 
this Sacrament, here demand a passing notice ; and, 
particularly, in connection with the last item named — 
the subject of Christian fellowship. 

Christians frequently decline partaking of this Sacra- 
ment, because they have not full confidence in some 
other person or persons communing. We regard it as 
a full reply to this difficulty or scruple, that Christ 
himself partook of it with one he knew to be a traitor. 
That it is intended as a general expression of Christian 



lord's supper. 



383 



friendship, is very clear ; but equally clear is it, that no 
sincere Christian is required, or even authorized, to 
neglect this duty because unworthy persons partake 
presumptuously. By communing, you express friend- 
ship for all true Christians and penitents, and the 
presumption of charity, in the absence of conclusive 
evidence to the contrary, is, that all who partake of this 
Sacrament, sustain that character. But, should you 
be compelled to think differently of some who do 
partake, remember, you may mistake their true 
character ; and, if not, yet you are neither required, 
nor permitted, to neglect a positive duty on account 
of the character or conduct of another. 

Another case of difficulty is that in which your 
brother has something serious against you. - " Leave 
there thy gift before the altar, and go and be reconciled 
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." 
We suppose the true sense of this passage has been 
misapprehended. It cannot mean, that however 
innocent we may be in the matter of complaint 
against us, and however mistaken our brother may 
be of our true character, or however obstinate or 
unforgiving he may be towards us, that we dare not 
partake of the supper until we have made him our 
friend ; for this, in many cases, would be impossible, 
and impossibilities are never required in the gospel ; nor 
is it required that one should do penance for another's 
sins, mistakes, or obstinacy. The thing required, then, 
is evidently this: if you know your brother to have 
" aught against you," and if you have injured him, 
or otherwise erred, confess your fault and labor to 
regain his confidence ; or, if unconscious of any 



884 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



impropriety, use all the proper means in your power 
to convince him of his mistake. If he will not suffer 
you even to approach him, try to gain your object 
by the mediation of others. But, if, after all, you 
cannot reconcile your brother, only be sure that you 
cherish no enmity in your heart against him, and then 
it is not only your privilege, but your duty to go to the 
supper of the Lord. 

It seems remarkable, that so many Christians should 
place their right to partake of the eucharist at the 
disposal of others ; and that the lack of confidence in 
another, or another's want of confidence in them, 
should be made the ground of excluding themselves 
from this holy ordinance. The question of fellowship 
involved in the case, can only have respect to the state 
of our own feelings, and not those of other persons, 
over whose feelings and conduct we can have no 
control. If we " are in love and fellowship," so far as 
our own hearts are concerned, if we sincerely desire to 
love God and his children, no power on earth or hell 
has a right to debar us. Again, the same principle 
that keeps us from the table at which some one kneels 
whose piety we doubt, or who doubts ours, may keep 
us away ever ; for we can hardly expect ever to have 
full confidence in every member of even our own 
branch of the visible Church, nor that every one every 
where will have full confidence in us ; and, whether the 
objecting or objectionable brother kneel at the opposite 
end from us of the bench or chancel, or at the opposite 
end of the town, the State, or the continent, the 
principle is the same, for the eye of God beholds 
you communing together, in his holy Sacrament, 



LORD'S SUPBEEi 



whether you be kneeling five feet apart, or five 
hundred miles. 

The question has been often made, Has any one 
a right to partake of the Lord's Supper who is not 
fully assured of acceptance with God ? This question 
came up incidentally in the early part of these 
comments, in considering the conditions of member- 
ship, and we then, as we think, proved the affirmative 
of the proposition. For this reason, and that the 
subject of the eucharist is broadly presented in our 
Articles of Faith, it is not necessary to enter more 
fully into it in this place. 

It is, then, the duty of all who truly and sincerly 
repent of their sins, and are desirous to be in love and 
harmony with their neighbors, and are determined to 
lead a new — that is, a Christian — life, obeying the 
commandments of God, to partake of this holy Sacra- 
ment. We have no right to expect the blessing of God 
promised to obedience, if we neglect, habitually, a 
positive command of God— and such is the command in 
question. The fear of " eating unworthily," and so 
incurring condemnation to themselves, by which so many 
persons are kept from this duty and privilege, is not a 
legitimate excuse for the neglect: for, if you do not 
" sincerely repent of your sins," &c, you have no 
right to a place in the Church, at all ; and, if you do, 
and are ready to take the vow of allegiance upon you, 
you are bound to obey this command with all the other 
commands of God. 

The habitual neglect of this duty subjects members, 
under these rules, when properly enforced, to the 
exercise of discipline, as in other cases of neglect. 
33 



886 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



As to the spirit in which we should partake, it 
should be the spirit of self-examination. Let a man 
examine himself, and so eat. We should rigidly 
examine our feelings, our motives, our purposes, that so 
we may present to God a heart of pure intentions and 
pious desires. It should be a spirit of deep humility. 
And if we rightly consider our own utter unworthiness, 
in connection with the abundant goodness of God, 
especially in the gift of his Son, we must be humbled. 
It should be a spirit of sincere penitence. We should 
come earnestly repenting of our sins, and imploring 
forgiveness through Christ. It should be a spirit of 
faith, confidently relying on God for the fulfilment 
of his great and precious promises made to us through 
the blood of the covenant. It should be a spirit of love 
and forgiveness ; for, if Christ implored forgiveness, and 
exercised pity on his murderers, when we approach the 
dread symbol of his love and agony, we should cast 
away all malice, and hatred, and every feeling contrary 
to that which moved the Son of God to pour out his 
soul a ransom for his enemies. It should be a spirit of 
fervent prayer to God, to enable us rightly to discern 
the Lord's body, and to partake of its symbol to our 
spiritual comfort. It should be a spirit of gratitude 
and rejoicing, for the wonderful condescension and 
grace of the blessed Lord. With such a spirit we 
should approach the holy Communion ; and, having 
devoutly partaken, we should give ourselves to prayer 
and meditation, at least for a short space of time after 
retiring from the table. 

So used, we shall find it the bread of life to our souls. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

ORDINANCES OF RELIGION— PRAYER— '. 



FASTING. 



Family Prayer — Nature of the duty — Family religion before 
congregational — The head of family the Priest — Benefits of — 
Proper time for — Errors and mistakes about — Having but part of 
the family present — Tediousness — Hurry — Want of co-operation 
in heads of family — Private Prayer — How performed, and 
advantages of it — Fasting, or Abstinence — Nature of the duty 
— Examples — Concluding paragraph of the Rules — Analysis of it. 

" Family and Private Prayer." — Family 'devotion 
is a duty arising out of the family organization. Of 
public worship we have spoken as a part of the religious 
organization of a community ; and family worship is to 
the family circle, what public is to a community, only in 
a more personal and concentrated form. This form of 
social devotion preceded public worship, in the order of 
institution and time. Congregational worship was not 
formally instituted until the period of the migration of 
Israel from Egypt to .Canaan; but family worship 
evidently existed at a much earlier period. The head 
of the family acted as priest, and took the lead in the 
sacrifice, and devotional services of the house. When a 
distinct order of priesthood was instituted, it was to act 
in a sphere which, previously, had no natural officiating 



388 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



head to act in a sacerdotal capacity ; that sphere 
was the public congregation, or general assembly, of 
worshippers, composed of a collection of many families. 
To infer, therefore, that when the priestly order was 
regularly constituted, it ceased to be the right and duty 
of the head o* a family to officiate as priest, to the 
domestic circle, of which he is the natural religious 
guide, and guardian, in what pertains to domestic 
relations and duties, is contrary to the reason of the 
case. The spheres are different; the rights and duties 
are distinct. The priest, or consecrated minister, is the 
officer of the Church, and his official rights and duties 
pertain to that organization as such; but he has no 
more right, in virtue of his office, to assume the control 
of the family devotions of another man's household, 
than that man has to assume his place in the public 
congregation. 

True, when a minister is present at the domestic 
worship of a religious family, it is usual, and proper, to 
invite him to lead in that worship ; yet this is a courtesy 
extended to him, as one peculiarly devoted to the 
service of God, and the church, and not a right belong- 
ing to his office. The head of the family calls on the 
minister to officiate in his place at the family altar, just 
as the minister invites another minister to officiate in 
his stead in the public congregation. The head of the 
household may, sometimes, properly perform his peculiar 
religious duties, by the substitution of another in his 
place, as the minister may ; but, in each case, he whose 
duty it is to perform the family, or the public religious 
service, is responsible for that performance. So, also, 
in the character of pastor, it is his duty, when oppor- 



FAMILY PRAYER. 



389 



trinity offers, to admonish, instruct, and pray in the 
families under his pastoral care ; but this does not 
generally happen at the time of the regular family 
devotion, and does not come in place of it at all. 

The father, or head of the household, is now as much 
the priest of the domestic altar as was Abraham, or 
Job, or any of the patriarchs who thus officiated before 
the regular institution of congregational worship, and a 
distinct order of priesthood ; for the good reason, that 
congregational worship was not designed to supercede 
domestic, but to operate on a more extended scale of 
religious organization, to the highest efficiency of which, 
however, domestic worship is essentially necessary. 

That the early, and elementary training of children, 
general and religious, should devolve on parents, is but 
the order of nature, and of God ; and it were about as 
reasonable to expect the necessary religious impressions, 
and principles of Christianity, to be received, and made 
permanent in the heart of the child, without the kindly 
influences of the family altar, as to expect like results 
in the congregation without the appointed ministrations 
of the sanctuary. And while a blessing always attends 
the right and faithful performance of this duty, and 
those families are most virtuous and happy — other things 
being equal — in which the coals never die on the 
domestic altar, the curse of heaven is pronounced on 
those " families which (in their family character,) call 
not on the name of the Lord." 

J ob offered family sacrifice for his family, and Daniel 
prayed in his house, and, we suppose, in his family, 
three times a day, and became stronger than the strength 
of lions. When the Wesley s felt themselves thrust out 



890 ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 

to raise up a holy people, considering the tiresome 
formality, or total neglect of this duty, a great cause of 
the low state of vital piety in the Church, they provided 
that those who continue in these societies should be 
required to attend to the duty of family prayer. And 
there can be but little doubt, that the neglect of this 
duty — a neglect now too prevalent — is a cause of 
coldness and barrenness in many Churches, and in 
thousands of individuals holding membership in the 
Church of God. 

In former times, when these excellent rules were 
more highly prized, and generally respected, than they 
seem to be at present by many of our people and 
preachers, it was customary to enforce this duty with 
great care and strictness. The minister, and the class 
leader, inquired of the members, individually, whether 
they attended to the duty of family prayer regularly ; 
and, if any were found delinquent, every possible means 
were employed to bring them up to the point of duty, 
and the instances were rare in which the delinquent 
did not either reform or leave the Church. Then, the 
membership had the habit of prayer, and — almost of 
consequence — the spirit, and it was not matter of doubt 
with the minister, or leader, whether he could get one 
out of half a dozen old members called on, to pray in a 
prayer meeting, or class meeting, for it was not common 
to find a member who would not pray publicly when 
requested. Now the case is considerably different; but 
the fact that men who pray regularly in their families 
are now as available as then, indicates, with sufficient 
certainty, the cause of the falling off. The man who 
has no prayers for the benefit of his own family, has 



FAMILY PRAYER. 



391 



not, and, it might also be added, cannot have, for the 
edification of the public. 

All that has been said by ethical writers, and moral 
philosophers, in favor of the duty of public worship, as 
to its influence in elevating the tone of the moral 
affections, calling into action the power of social 
sympathy, teaching by the effective force of example, 
and the rest, applies, with all its- strength, to family 
devotion. 

Parents, by this means, not only improve their own 
religious feelings, and confidence, but give evidence to 
their household of their reverence for God and religion. 
In the public congregation, hundreds unite in the 
outward acts of devotion, but children soon come to 
look on this as matter of form, or, at best, external 
respect for the ordinances of religion, for there they 
see those they know to be irreligious, joining with others 
in the public services of the Church; but when they 
are called around the family altar, in the morning and 
evening sacrifices, they there see that religion is, with 
their parents, not merely a Sabbath and a congrega- 
tional concern, but a matter of personal and daily 
attention, and serious interest. 

In the congregation there may be temptation with 
the minister to make a fair exhibit of his powers, even 
while speaking to the Most High as a mouth for the 
assembly ; but when that same minister comes to offer 
up himself, his wife, his children and servants, to God, 
in family devotion, there is left no room for display, 
and even Satan could hardly hope for the success of a 
temptation to pride, or vanity, thrown in to taint the 
family offering. Again: when a parent officiates as 



392 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



priest of the domestic altar, he thereby makes such a 
declaration before his household, of his devotion to the 
service of God, as is well calculated to operate as a 
restraint on his words, tempers, and actions, and 
especially in their presence. 

As to the proper time for attending to this duty, it 
is not sufficient, that the family altar have fire kindled 
on it on Sabbath morning, and then stand covered with 
cold ashes the rest of the week. The effects of this are, 
that the intervals of devotion are so long, that the spirit 
of the duty is lost, and it becomes irksome and spirit- 
less, when it should be a delight ; and besides, it leaves 
on the mind of the family an impression, that family 
religion is not a business of every day, but only a 
Sunday service. Morning and evening, of every day, 
should the Christian household unite in offering up 
then- prayers and praises to the Father of Mercies, 
unless prevented by some providential hinderance. This 
has been the opinion, and the practice, of the wisest 
and holiest men. 

But even in the instances in which the duty is 
regularly performed, we frequently meet with circum- 
stances in the manner of performing it, which greatly 
tend to diminish the profitableness of the exercise. 
Some of these may be named, that they may be 
avoided. 

1. Having morning prayer after breakfast, and 
when a portion of the family are impatient to scatter off 
to their respective vocations, and especially, in cases 
where they have to wait for a "second table," before 
prayer can be made. The first fruits of the day should 
be given to God, alike as matter of duty and con- 



FAMILY PKAYER. 



393 



venience ; and, if not earlier, at least when the family 
are collected for breakfast, their united devotions should 
be offered up before the morning repast is taken. 

2. Evening prayer is often delayed to so late an 
hour, that a portion of the family have either retired 
for the night, or are so drowsy, that attendance upon 
the duty is irksome and profitless. Indeed, some 
parents take no special care to have their younger 
children present, at the devotions of the family, seeming 
to forget, that one special object of the institution is the 
benefit of children. 

3. Errors or mistakes in the manner of performing 
this duty, often defeat the object of it wholly, or in 
part, one of which is tedionsness. We have seen a 
father devoutly seat himself at a late hour at night, or 
a hurrying time in the morning, and, surrounded with 
nodding auditors, or impatient ones, deliberately journey 
through a long chapter, a hymn, or psalm of uncommon 
length, and then a prayer corresponding. Such a 
course is calculated to deaden the fire and fervency of 
devotion in the leader of the exercise, and its common 
effect is to beget aversion in young minds to the whole 
exercise. Ordinarily, it is much better to read a short 
chapter, or even no more than eight to ten verses with 
emphasis, sing two or three well chosen verses of a 
hymn with life, and offer up a prayer full of energy, 
and solemn pathos, of not more than from five to eight 
minutes duration. It must be confessed, however, 
that this Pharisaic error is not the prevalent one of 
the age; but, 

4. A disposition to hurry through the service, with 
indecent haste, and lack of solemnity. Most improperly 



394 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



both reading God's word, and singing his praise, are 
dispensed with, and without any preparatory exercise to 
compose the mind, and as it were, pave the way for the 
mind and heart, to the throne of grace. " Let us pray," 
calls the family suddenly, and in the midst of business 
thoughts and conversation, to their knees, to hear a few 
words uttered in hurried irreverence. 

5. However well intended, and judiciously directed, 
the efforts of the father to render family devotion 
engaging and profitable, little success is likely to crown 
his efforts, unless they be faithfully supported, and 
co-operated in by the mother. If she manage to be 
not ready at the proper time ; if the family have to wait 
to impatience her attendance ; if she suggest, that the 
worship go on, and she will come when she can ; or come 
not in at all, on some frivolous plea, and seem to take a 
reluctant part, and little, or no interest in the matter, 
she becomes "a millstone hanged about his neck." 
But, if with devout cheerfulness, she have all things 
ready for duty, place the books on the stand, call the 
family to order, and her husband to his duty as family 
priest, how is his burdened lightened, and how much 
more favorable the impression on the minds and hearts 
of all, than in the other case. 

We have never known a family, as such, to turn out 
badly, where the parents had faithfully co-operated in 
the uniform, consistent, and constant practice and in- 
culcation of family religion ; and we have seldom, if 
ever, known an entire family to do well, in which this 
great auxiliary to virtue and piety was neglected, or 
very defectively performed. If our children are to 
become religious through our influence, they must see 



PRIVATE PRAYER. 



395 



the fruits of religion at home, and feel its warmth at 
the home altar. How inconsistently do we profess 
solicitude for the conversion of our households, when we 
care not enough about it, to even kindle up the extin- 
guished coals on that altar which more than any other 
is designed to melt their hardness, and influence them 
to a pious life. 

We, as a people, have lost much on this ground ; 
and there must be a mighty stirring up, and a sifting, 
a firm, mild carrying out of this rule, or what is lost 
cannot be regained. 

" Private Prayer." — As in public worship, we 
commune with the Most High, in unison with the 
assembly of worshippers, and in the family devotion, in 
connection with a household ; so, in private prayer, we 
commune with God alone, when no eye but His sees us, 
no ear but his hears, and all motive to hypocrisy, pride, 
or vanity, is excluded. In scarcely any other act of 
duty, can we be so fully confident of the sincerity and 
purity of our own motives. Such acts of piety as are 
known to God only, must be presumed to originate in 
principle alone, for there is not room for any other 
motive. One may act very honestly when in the eye 
of the world, or be munificent in alms-giving when seen 
of men, or pray eloquently when heard and admired by 
the multitude ; but, the integrity that is as scrupulous of 
justice when unseen by men, as in the thronged mart ; 
the charity that carefully conceals its acts from the 
world ; the prayer that seeks to be heard only by Him 
who can answer prayer ; these challenge our own con- 
fidence in the highest degree. 



396 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



It would seem superfluous to quote either command, 
or example, to prove the obligation and benefits of this 
duty : the sacred records abound in both, and few, even 
of rejectors of those records, deny the propriety of 
offering the secret breathings of the heart to God in 
humble confession, in supplication, and in thanksgiving. 
Prayer is the natural language of dependence, of con- 
trition, and of gratitude ; it is the last resource of 
helplessness. 

It is not enough that a mental prayer, or ejacula- 
tion, be offered occasionally, in the midst of our ordinary 
business and cares. This is, indeed, necessary, and 
strengthening, and should be often resorted to, in cir- 
cumstances which admit of no other kind of prayer ; 
but it is not designed to come in place of secret prayer, 
properly so called, else would not Christ have said, 
" Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the 
door, pray to thy Father who seeth in secret," &c. 
An ejaculation can be offered without either entering 
the closet, or bowing the knee ; but when we retire for 
secret prayer, we are lead to feel, that we are there for 
the sole purpose of holding personal communion with 
the God who has promised to meet us there, and 
thoughts and feelings, solemn and devotional, are waked 
up almost necessarily by the impressive circumstances 
attending us. This duty should, so far as our circum- 
stances will permit, be performed at stated, and regular 
periods. When opportunity offers, it is very proper 
for us to pray at other times also ; but, at least, the 
regular hour of secret prayer should be held sacred to 
that holy use, except only when providential hinderances 
interpose. One good effect of this course is, the 



PRIVATE PRAYER. 



897 



formation of a habit of secret devotion ; so that when 
the fixed hour arrives, the soul hungers for its hidden 
manna, as the body demands its needed sustenance at 
the accustomed time. But, if we permit slight hinder- 
ances to keep us from our closet to-day, a less cause 
will probably be sufficient to turn us aside from duty 
to-morrow, and perhaps, in a short time, the hour can 
pass without our even thinking of the sacred uses to 
which we were wont to appropriate it. It is pre- 
sumed, that, in a large proportion of the instances of 
backsliding — partial, or total — on the part of those who 
have once been right in faith, in experience, in religious 
habits, the first downward step was taken in neglecting 
regular, stated, closet devotion ; the next, neglecting the 
closet entirely ; then, as a consequence, the abandon- 
ment of family prayer ; then, naturally, a disrelish for 
the duties of the house of God ; when, soon, they become 
dry and withered branches, fit only for fuel of fire. 
True, there are some, now-a-days, who matriculate into 
the visible household of God, without erecting, before 
or afterwards, either a household altar, or a regularly 
consecrated closet ; but, such cannot be relied on ; they 
have not root in themselves, and, chilled by the first 
wind of adversity, or subdued by the first sunshine 
of prosperity, they wilt, and become things of rottenness 
and nought. 

Christ's true disciples truly love private prayer, and 
none have just claims to that character who neglect the 
duty. This rule is in accordance with the teachings of 
the Lord, and was intended to be enforced. Its proper 
enforcement would, no doubt, eradicate from the vine- 
yard many a barren and cumbersome fig tree ; but it 



898 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION, 



would cause to spring up, in their stead, numerous young 
vines, of the Father's right hand planting, full of the 
sap of life, bearing rich clusters to the glory of God, 
and their end everlasting life. 

"Fasting, or Abstinence." — What God commands 
is right, because he commands it ; yet the Most High, 
in many cases, condescends to bring down the reasons 
of his conduct to the comprehension of his creatures. 
A great source of error and delinquency, in human 
beings, is the ascendency the animal nature is allowed 
to have over the moral. The indulgence of the animal 
appetites, to an inordinate extent, tends, directly, and 
surely, to that ruinous ascendency of the mere animal 
over the immortal ; hence strict temperance in eating, 
and drinking, is required by Christianity as indispensable 
to the true Christian character. It is known to all, that 
luxurious living — the free indulgence in the use of 
stimulating food and drinks — prepares the way for 
criminal excesses of various kinds, from which the 
strictly temperate are free. But temperance is not 
fasting, or abstinence, or, at most, is only abstinence 
from excess, which, though good and indispensable, is 
not precisely the thing here enjoined. By "fasting" 
is meant, an entire refraining, for a time, from ordinary 
food; and, by "abstinence," reducing the quantity, or 
quality of food, below what we usually allow to our- 
selves. The effect of this is to hold the animal appetites 
in check, and use them in subordination to the higher 
attributes of our moral nature. And it is no small 
achievement, so to bridle the appetites, as to habituate 
them to control — to being kept under. Such control is 



FASTING, OR ABSTINENCE. 



899 



of great importance, as our religious stability and 
enjoyment are concerned ; and, if fasting or abstinence 
will aid us in gaining that control, we ought, by all 
means, to avail ourselves of them. This duty has been 
objected to, as being contrary to nature and reason. 
Contrary to nature it is, in a certain sense, because 
nature remonstrates against any restraint placed upon 
her appetites and desires. But if reason be designed 
to control and regulate the appetites — which otherwise 
would run to excess, and overturn the reign of reason — 
then, if this act of self-denial tends to strengthen that 
control of reason over appetite, even regarding man in 
his intellectual dignity, apart from his moral destiny, 
this duty is a strictly reasonable one. But we regard 
the duty proper and reasonable, even with respect to 
man's animal nature. In this land of abounding 
plenty, a large proportion of our people habitually take 
food in such quantity, and of such quality, as to 
overtask the digestive powers of the animal economy, 
consequences of which are dyspepsias, gouts, and many 
other diseases. Prudently to abstain, in part, from our 
usual food, lightens that task, and tends to invigorate 
those powers made weak by such overburdening. It is 
a fact, worthy of notice, that many of the most 
successful physicians prevent sickness in themselves by 
abstinence, and cure many of its attacks on them by 
fasting. 

Thus is this neglected duty not only enjoined in 
the word of God, and in our General Rules, but is 
calculated, when rightly attended to, to benefit the 
moral, the intellectual, and the physical man ; and is 
supported by reason, and commended by the practice 



400 



ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. 



of the most pious Christians, for its religious benefits, 
and by the most prudent for its physical advantages. 

Perhaps no uniform rule can be laid down as to times 
of fasting, and the extent to which it should be carried. 
The choice between fasting and abstinence is here very 
properly left to the conscience and judgment of the 
Christian, for there are cases in which one might be 
proper, and the other — on account of the bodily state 
of the subject— inexpedient ; but in all, or nearly all 
cases, either the one or the other would be proper and 
profitable. Members of bands were required, by 
voluntary agreement, to fast once a week ; but our 
Church has thought it proper, only to prescribe to the 
membership, in any thing like positive form, a fast on 
the Friday immediately preceding each quarterly 
meeting. By this is not intended a doing of penance, 
by which we may atone for our sins, or errors, and 
purchase pardon ; but an humbling of ourselves before 
God, all as with one consent, that so we may be pre- 
pared to expect and receive a great blessing on the 
Church, when we meet to enjoy the quarterly feast of 
grace. If, where two or three agree in a petition to 
God it shall be granted, where many agree to humble 
and chasten themselves, that the sins of the Church 
may be forgiven, and the blessing of God may be 
poured into her bosom, we have good reason to expect 
the giving of a blessing. And when this pious custom 
was nearly universal among us, when all fasted and 
prayed for a special blessing on the quarterly meetings, 
it is well known, that those occasions were generally 
marked by wonderful displays of the gracious power of 
the Lord. ' There is, however, in this duty, too much 



FASTING OR ABSTINENCE. 



401 



of self-denial, and mortifying of the body, to allow it 
to be popular, or even acceptable, to carnal, self-in- 
dulgent professors. Among the purer salt of the earth 
something of this duty — to which Christ attached much 
importance by example and precept — may be found 
still, but the neglect of it has become quite too general. 

Unfashionable as fasting has become, it was not only 
the custom of God's ancient people, individually to 
observe this duty, but, both under the old and new 
dispensations, they made it a point to fast on special 
occasions, particularly when the prosperity of their 
Church, or nation, was concerned, or put in peril. 

For example : — ■ 

1. On the approach of enemies ; 2 Chron. xx. 3, 
6 'And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek 
the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah," 

2. When threatened with destruction; Esther iv. 3, 
" And in every province whithersoever ' the king 7 s 
commandment and his decree came, there was great 
mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, 
and wailing ; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes." 

3. After defeat by enemies, that they might suitably 
repent and humble themselves for national sins, and 
recover the favor and help of God; Josh. vii. 6, "And 
Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his 
face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he 
and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. 
Judg. xx. 26, " Then all the children of Israel, and all 
the people, went up and came unto the house of God, 
and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted 
that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and 
peace-offerings before the Lord," 1 Sam. xxxi. 13, 

M 



402 



ORDINANCES Of RELIGION. 



44 And they took their bones and buried them under a 
a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven davs." 2 Sam. 
i. 12, " And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until 
even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the 
people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; 
because they were fallen by the sword." 

4. On the threatening of judgments and other critical 
occasions ; 1 Kings xxi. 27, 44 And it came to pass, 
when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, 
and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in 
sackcloth, and went softly." Jonah hi. 5-7, 44 So the 
people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, 
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to 
the least of them. For word came unto the king of 
Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his 
robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat 
in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and 
published through Nineveh by the decree of the king 
and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd 
nor flock, taste any thing : let them not feed, nor drink 
water." Dan. ix. 3, 44 And I set my face unto the 
Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with 
fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." Ezra viii. 21-23, 
44 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, 
that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek 
of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and 
for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require 
of the king, a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us 
against the enemy in the way : because we had spoken 
unto the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all 
them for good that seek him ; but his power and Ins 
wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we 



FASTING OR ABSTINENCE. 



403 



fasted and besought our God for this : and he was 
entreated of us." Neh. ix. 1, " Now in the twenty and 
fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were 
assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth 
upon them." 

5. Christ fasted when about entering upon his 
public ministry; Matt. iv. 2, "And when he had 
fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards 
an hungered." 

6. The apostles and Church fasted when about 
to ordain ministers to serve the Church; Acts 
xiv. 23, "And when they had ordained them elders 
in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they 
commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. 
Acts xiii. 2, 3, "As they ministered to the Lord, and 
fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and 
Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. 
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their 
hands on them, they sent them away." Cornelius, 
when in doubt what to do for himself and his Gentile 
friends fasted, and divine direction was given; Acts 
x. 30, "And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was 
fasting until this hour ; and at the ninth hour I prayed 
in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in 
bright clothing." 

Fasting has been perverted from its intended use, 
but this is not an argument against the duty itself, 
which is commanded of God, and profitable to those who 
use it according to the order of the Most High. 

Having now passed through this short but compre- 
hensive and moral code, there is left only the brief 
concluding paragraph, which reads as follows : — • 



CONCLUSION. 



" These are the general rules of our societies: all 
which we are taught of God to observe, even in his 
written word, which is the only rule, and the sufficient 
rule both of our faith and practice. And all these we 
know his Spirit writes on truly awakened hearts. If 
there be any among us who observe them not, who 
habitually break any of them, let it be known unto 
them who watch over that soul, as they who must give 
an account. We admonish him of the error of his 
ways. We will bear with him for a season. But if 
then he repent not, he hath no place among us. We 
have delivered our own souls." 

On this paragraph we have but a few words to offer. 
It is asserted of these rules, 1. That they are all 
taught of God in His written word. 2. That word is 
the only sufficient rule of faith and practice. 3. That 
the Spirit of God writes these rules of his word on 
truly awakened hearts. 4. Such being their authority, 
if there be any of our members who habitually break 
my of them, such cases should be made known to the 
pastor of such delinquents, whose duty it is to attempt 
their reformation by admonition ; but if the transgres- 
sion be persisted in, they are to be cut off from the 
society. 

These are all points of importance, and might be 
greatly enlarged on, but we forbear. 



8350 




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